SAO PAULO - Brazil is in talks to buy an additional 20 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech, the governor of Sao Paulo told Reuters in a Thursday interview, in a show of confidence in the Chinese shot.

The order will come on top of the 100 million doses of the vaccine, known as CoronaVac, already secured by Sao Paulo's Butantan biomedical institute, Governor Joao Doria said.

The state-run institute led mass clinical testing of the vaccine in Brazil and is now filling and finishing doses for a national immunization program, with plans for 100% domestic production in early 2022. The only other COVID-19 shot approved for emergency use in Brazil is the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Doria said he expects Butantan to receive shipments of active ingredients from China on a rolling weekly or 10-day basis, overcoming initial hitches that threatened to slow production.

A new Butantan facility under construction is slated to produce the vaccine's active ingredients beginning in January 2022, later than a prior target of the second half of this year. Butantan is negotiating supplies for the extra 20 million doses to keep its finishing line active until the new plant starts up.

Reuters