Cambridge- April, 2024- Moderna announced a contract with the Ministry of Health in Brazil (Ministério da Saúde) to supply its mRNA COVID-19 vaccine as an integral part of Brazil’s 2024 national vaccination campaign against COVID-19. This contract follows the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency’s (ANVISA) approval of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in March 2024, which encodes the spike protein of the XBB.1.5 sublineage of SARS-CoV-2 for active immunization for the prevention of COVID-19 in children from six months of age and adults.
“We are proud to partner with the Ministry of Health to provide our mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for the first time in Brazil as part of the national vaccination campaign,” said Stéphane Bancel, Chief Executive Officer of Moderna. “This agreement underscores our commitment to global health and our role in supporting Brazil’s efforts to protect its citizens against COVID-19. We look forward to working with the Ministry of Health to help maintain health security in Brazil.”
Under the contract, 12.5 million doses of Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine are anticipated for delivery in the second quarter of 2024, marking a significant milestone in Brazil’s ongoing efforts to combat COVID-19. The partnership between Moderna and the Ministry of Health reflects a shared commitment to public health and the importance of national immunization campaigns. This contract is expected to bolster Brazil’s national vaccination campaign and contribute to the global effort to combat the enduring threat of COVID-19.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) determined that the ancestral strain and related variants no longer circulate in humans. To ensure updated vaccines provide the most robust immune response against the dominant circulating variants, regulators and global public health agencies have recommended that COVID-19 vaccines be updated to a monovalent XBB.1.5 composition. Moderna has generated preclinical and clinical data of its monovalent XBB.1.5 vaccine candidate showing an immune response against XBB sublineages and currently circulating strains of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including JN.1.
