Sao Paolo's health secretary says Chinese vaccine safe afte

Jean Gorinchteyn, health secretary for the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, said on Tuesday that the COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac is safe.

"We had an external event that led to the regulator being notified," Gorinchteyn said. "This vaccine is safe."

The remark came after Brazil's health regulator, Anvisa, suspended the trials late on Monday, saying the event occurred on October 29 without giving further details.

Dimas Covas, head of the Butantan Institute conducting the experimental trials, told local media that the trial's suspension was related to a death, but insisted it was not linked to the vaccine.

Speaking at the same news conference, he said he's surprised by the halt of trials and hoped they would resume later on Tuesday or Wednesday.

But Anvisa said it would maintain the suspension and did not give any indication of how long it might last, adding it required more information on the incident.

Speaking on the incident on Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry said Sinovac will continue to communicate with Brazil on the matter.

"We noticed Sinovac has responded to the relevant reports. Sinovac's cooperation partner in Brazil, the Butantan Institute, believed that this serious adverse event (SAE) is not related to the vaccine. Sinovac will continue to communicate with Brazil on this matter."