The Ministry of Health left R$ 693,6 million idle after delaying the termination of the Sputnik V contract for 4 months.
The money could have been used to purchase other vaccines, but it remained unused, and it's unclear whether the purchase order was cancelled.
Sputnik - According to Folha de São Paulo, the Ministry of Health delayed the termination of the contract signed for the purchase of ten million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for more than four months.
The purchase was made under the administration of the former Minister of Health, General Eduardo Pazuello, who issued a purchase order for R$ 693,6 million to pay for the doses of the vaccine, which never arrived.
The money, which could have been used to purchase other vaccines, has been sitting idle ever since.
The media reports that the ministry has not responded to whether the purchase order was canceled, what the money will be used for, and why there was a wait of more than four months for the cancellation of the contract to purchase the Russian vaccine.
In a document seen by Folha, a report from the ministry's technical area was identified recommending the termination of the contract on August 3, 2021; however, this action was only taken on December 14, when the ministry was already under the administration of Marcelo Queiroga.
The document bears the signature of the Secretary of Health Surveillance, Arnaldo Correia de Medeiros.
At the time the termination was suggested, the government was facing corruption allegations in the purchase of another vaccine, the Indian Covaxin, brokered by Precisa Medicamentos.
According to media reports, both the Covaxin and Sputnik V contracts were negotiated and finalized by Army Colonel Elcio Franco Filho, executive secretary of the Ministry of Health and Pazuello's right-hand man.
Subscribe to 247, Support via Pix, Subscribe to TV 247, in the channel Cuts 247 and watch: