Brazil regulator says suspension of Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine was technical

Brazil's health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday that its decision to suspend trials for China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine was purely technical and dismissed any "politicization" of its work to ensure a safe and effective vaccine.

"We had no choice but to suspend the trials given the event," the head of the agency Antônio Barra Torres said at a news conference. Reuters reported earlier on Tuesday, citing a source familiar with the matter, that the event was the suicide of a volunteer.