Nurse first in Brazil to get COVID-19 vaccine

SAO PAULO: Nurse Monica Calazans on Sunday became the first person in Brazil to receive a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Sao Paulo state governor João Doria attended as the 54-year-old Calazans, who is considered at high-risk from coronavirus, was inoculated.

Vaccinations began on Sunday, the day Brazil's health regulator approved the urgent use of coronavirus vaccines made by Sinovac and AstraZeneca, enabling Latin America's largest nation to begin an immunization program that's been subject to months of delay and political disputes.

Brazil's rollout beginning later than neighbors such as Argentina and Chile despite a robust public health system and decades of experience with immunization campaigns.

The process to present and approve the COVID-19 vaccines was fraught with conflict, as allies of President Jair Bolsonaro sought to cast doubt on the efficacy of the Sinovac shot backed by his political rival, Doria.

The vaccination priority will be health professionals on the front line against coronavirus.