Jair Bolsonaro
Photographer: Andre Borges / Bloomberg
Photographer: Andre Borges / Bloomberg
Brazil has accelerated plans to vaccinate its population against coronavirus after an early start by the state of Sao Paulo added pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro to move faster to stop an incipient loss of popularity.
The government began distributing 6 million doses of a blow from China on Monday Sinovac Biotech Ltd in partnership with the Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo to all its 27 states, giving the green light for vaccinations to begin immediately, according to an official statement. Less than 24 hours earlier, Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said the nationwide campaign would begin on Wednesday.
Pressure on the Brazilian president and his health minister increased dramatically when Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria held a ceremony on Sunday to administer the first dose of the so-called CoronaVac coup – just minutes after the health regulator in Sao Paulo. The country has approved its use as a matter of urgency. The image of an inoculated black nurse was broadcast in the Brazilian media and became a political victory for Doria, one of Bolsonaro’s main political opponents.
A healthcare worker administers a dose of Sinovac Biotech Ltd. coronavirus vaccine on Sunday at the University Hospital of Sao Paulo
“Bolsonaro is losing some of the support of his supporters,” said Marcio Coimbra, a political scientist who leads the Interlegis think tank in Brasilia. “Emergency aid has been the main driver of its popularity, while pandemics and vaccines have been an obstacle.”
Bolsonaro’s popularity fell 6 percentage points to 32% in January, a month after his cash distribution program for informal workers expired, according to an XP / Ipespe poll that surveyed 1,000 people between January 11 and 14. Half of those interviewed wanted the government to come up with a similar emergency program for a few more months. It is the first time since May that its popularity has taken a hit, the poll said.
Read more: the lack of oxygen requires the weather in the capital of the Brazilian Amazon
The president, who has repeatedly questioned the safety of shootings against a pandemic that has killed more than 200,000 Brazilians, has come under increasing political stress, while national inoculation plans lag behind those of partners. key regional cases, and Covid-19 cases spiral again across the country. To complicate matters, shipments of The AstraZeneca Plc report – the federal government’s main bet to support a mass campaign – has been postponed amid difficult negotiations with India, where some of the photos are being produced.
Without his main book available immediately, the health ministry decided to go ahead with CoronaVac – a vaccine that was sponsored by Doria and repeatedly criticized by Bolsonaro “because of its origin”. The collapse of the health system in the capital of the state of Amazonas, where hospitals ran out of oxygen to treat patients, contributed to a renewed sense of urgency. In response to the crisis, oxygen-laden trucks donated by Nicolas Maduro’s government in Venezuela crossed the Brazilian border on Monday, according to the G1 website.
Several state governors, who demanded a stronger response from the health ministry, celebrated the start of the inoculation campaign on social media by posting photos and videos of vaccine shipments on Brazilian air force planes. In Rio de Janeiro, Mayor Eduardo Paes held a ceremony at the foot of the statue of Christ the Savior to mark the date.
However, not all states received the shots immediately, with Pazuello attributing some delays to logistical challenges.
With CoronaVac distributed nationwide, Doria gets a political victory that strengthens her position as a possible candidate in the 2022 presidential election, Coimbra said, warning that other names are likely to appear along the way.
– With the assistance of Isadora Sanches and Marisa Wanzeller
(Updates with details about Manaus in the seventh paragraph, delays in the second to last paragraph. An earlier version of this story has been corrected to say that Bolsonaro’s popularity has dropped by 6 percentage points, not basis points.)