The Brazilian government has unveiled its long-awaited national vaccination plan against Covid-19 with an initial goal of vaccinating 51 million people, or about one-fourth of the population, in the first half of 2021.

In a document sent to the Supreme Court, which had given the government a deadline to draw up the plan, the Health Ministry said 108 million doses will be available for priority vaccination of vulnerable groups that include health workers, elderly people and indigenous communities.

The plan says 70 per cent of the population — or about 148m of Brazil’s 212m people — need to be immunised to stop the virus from spreading. The current plan covers just about one-third of that goal.