By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

The Brazil Ministry of Health reported 27,444 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the country total to 5,055,888 confirmed cases of the disease, remaining the 3rd highest total globally.

More than 4.4 million people have recovered from COVID-19 in Brazil to date, while officials report 472,654 active cases.

The disease is present in 99.8% of Brazilian municipalities. However, more than half of the cities (3,545) have between 2 and 100 cases.

Regarding deaths, Brazil has reported 149,639 deaths from coronavirus, with 682 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.

The Ministry of Health announced on Thursday  they forecast some 140 million doses of the vaccine for Covid-19 early next year. The expectation is that the population will have access to the vaccine to the inputs from January 2021, after approval by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).

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The portfolio has invested in the improvement of technological parks, such as Fiocruz and Butantan, to strengthen the Brazilian National Immunization Program and expand the national production capacity.

At first, the vaccines will be offered by the laboratory AstraZeneca, responsible for the development of the Oxford vaccine, and by the international consortium Covax Facility. “Combining the two initiatives, the expectation is that we will have around 140 million doses available to the Brazilian population in the first half of 2021, via the National Immunization Program (PNI)”, assured the executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Élcio Franco . After the incorporation of technology in a second phase, the forecast is that the production capacity will be more than 165 million doses next year.