Brazil's ministry of health on Tuesday suspended negotiations to buy the COVID-19 vaccine Covaxin from Bharat Biotech. The deal had faced corruption allegations.
In a press conference at the presidential Planalto Palace on Tuesday, Minister of Health Marcelo Queiroga announced, "On the instructions of the CGU (Comptroller General of the Union), we have decided to suspend the Covaxin contract,” The Rio Times reported. Queiroga noted that his team would use the period of the suspension to investigate the allegations. Queiroga insisted preliminary analysis showed there were no irregularities. “According to the preliminary analysis, there are no irregularities in the contract but, for compliance, the health ministry chose to suspend the contract,” The Guardian quoted the health ministry as saying.
Wagner Rosario, the head of the CGU, was quoted by CNN Brazil as saying, "The suspension will only last for the time of counting. We have put in a reinforced team for the verification, we hope to be very quick in this process, and we hope that in no more than 10 days we will already have an answer for this analysis."
President Jair Bolsonaro had denied any wrongdoing in the incident, which came to light after a former health employee claimed he had informed the president that he was forced to sign a contract that would increase the average price of the doses by 1,000 per cent. The contract for 20 million Covaxin doses was valued at $324 million.
Brazilian prosecutors are probing the deal, signed in February, citing its high prices, rapid negotiations and pending regulatory approvals.
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A group of senators have demanded that Bolsonaro be probed over the matter for allegedly failing to act after he was informed about the irregularities.
Meanwhile, The Brazilian Report, an English news website, reported on Wednesday that Bolsonaro could have been wire-tapped by 'whistle blowers' in the Covaxin matter.