Medics pass by a graffiti painted on a wall to honor health workers amid COVID-19 outbreak at a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Rahel Patrasso)
Trials of two vaccines under development are currently in their third and final stages of testing in Brazil, which has the world's second largest outbreak of COVID-19, after the United States.
SAO PAULO, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Some 89 percent of Brazilians intend to get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus as soon as a vaccine is available, according to a survey published Sunday by regional daily Folha de Sao Paulo.
The survey by polling firm Datafolha showed 9 percent of respondents said they would refuse to get the vaccine and another 3 percent were undecided.
Of those surveyed, 46 percent expect the vaccine to be ready by the first half of 2021 and 22 percent want its availability by the end of next year.
Twenty-five percent expressed more optimism, saying a vaccine will be ready in 2020, according to the survey conducted on Aug. 11-12.
Trials of two vaccines under development are currently in their third and final stages of testing in Brazil, which has the world's second largest outbreak of COVID-19, after the United States. Over 100,000 deaths and 3 million cases of infection have been registered.
One of the vaccines is being developed by Oxford University in conjunction with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca through an agreement with Brazil's Ministry of Health and the Federal University of Sao Paulo.
The other vaccine is being developed by Chinese company Sinovac Biotech and tested in Brazil by the Butantan Institute, a vaccine maker and laboratory. ■
