Alerted Bolsonaro About Internal Pressure To Buy Covaxin: Official

A Senate panel probing the government's handling of the pandemic on Wednesday formally called the logistics department official, Lus Ricardo Miranda, to testify.

A Brazilian Health Ministry official has revealed that he alerted President Jair Bolsonaro to internal pressure he was facing to buy a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech, according to a newspaper interview on Wednesday. A Senate panel probing the government's handling of the pandemic on Wednesday formally called the logistics department official, Luís Ricardo Miranda, to testify. Miranda has told prosecutors he was pressured by Alex Lial Marinho, an aide to one of Bolsonaro's closest allies, former Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello, according to documents seen by Reuters. Miranda told O Globo he took his concerns, with documents, to Bolsonaro on March 20, and the president said he would speak with the head of the federal police. The meeting was brokered by Miranda's brother, Congressman Luís Miranda, who backed up the account in an interview with CNN Brasil on Wednesday. The reports pose a problem for Bolsonaro, with questions likely to follow on what he did to investigate Miranda's claims. It also raises awkward questions for Pazuello, who is facing criminal and civil probes into his handling of the pandemic while minister.