RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday that U.S. President Joe Biden will soon send doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the South American country, which has recorded the world’s second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak.
The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment. Earlier on Wednesday, a senior administration official told Reuters that no decisions had been made on which countries would receive any extra vaccine supplies from the U.S.
Brazil announced another 2,811 deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the official death toll to more than 414,000.
Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga had previously said the country is seeking vaccine supplies from the United States.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the Biden administration is working to give Brazil $20 million in medication used to intubate COVID-19 patients.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro and Andrea Shalal in Washington; additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Washington; writing by Jake Spring; editing by Chris Reese & Shri Navaratnam)
