MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil approved human clinical trials for a potential Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine

Health regulator Anvisa gave the green light to the study which will see 6,000 volunteers trial the vaccine of J&J pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen.

Brazil approved on Tuesday human clinical trials for a potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson, the fourth candidate to trial in the Latin American country that has become key to the global race for a vaccine.

Health regulator Anvisa said it had given the green light to the study which will see 6,000 people in Brazil volunteer to trial the vaccine contender of Johnson & Johnson's pharmaceutical subsidiary Janssen.

Brazilian officials have vowed to start producing British and Chinese vaccines within a year, but experts warn it may take at least twice as long.

It will enter phase 3 clinical trials, or large-scale testing on humans - the last step before regulatory approval, alongside candidates produced by AstraZeneca, Sinovac and a Pfizer partnership with BioNTech.

In July, the state of Parana said that it would seek regulatory approval for launching phase 3 trials with Chinese drug company Sinopharm. The Sinopharm vaccine candidate is being tested in the United Arab Emirates with 15,000 volunteers. No COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for commercial use.

Brazil on Monday reported 19,373 new cases of COVID-19 and 684 deaths.

The country has now registered 3,359,570 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 108,536.