Jair Bolsonaro insisted he would not be vaccinated.
Brasilia, Brazil:
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has launched an attack on coronavirus vaccines, even suggesting that the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.
The far-right leader has been skeptical of the coronavirus since it appeared late last year, marking it as “a little flu”. This week, he insisted he would not be vaccinated, even during the launch of the country’s mass inoculation program.
“In the Pfizer contract it is very clear: ‘we are not responsible for any side effects.’ If you turn into a crocodile, that’s your problem, “Bolsonaro said on Thursday.
The vaccine has been tested in Brazil for weeks and is already used in the United States and the United Kingdom.
“If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts talking in an effeminate voice, they will have nothing to do with it,” he said, referring to drugmakers.
At the launch of the immunization campaign on Wednesday, Bolsonaro also said that it will be free, but not mandatory.
But the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the vaccine was mandatory, although it could not be “forced” on people.
This means that the authorities can fine people for not being vaccinated and ban them from certain public spaces, but do not force them to take it.
Brazil has more than 7.1 million cases and almost 185,000 deaths caused by Covid-19 among the 212 million people.
Bolsonaro said that once a vaccine has been certified by the Brazilian regulatory agency Anvisa, “it will be available to anyone who wants it. But I will not get vaccinated. “
“Some people say they set a bad example. But idiots, idiots who say that, tell them I’ve already caught the virus, I have antibodies, so why get vaccinated?”
There have been a small number of cases of apparent reinfection, although there is no certainty whether a person can be reinfected or how long the immunity lasts.
Bolsonaro caught the virus in July, but recovered within three weeks.
Brazil is in the middle of a second wave of coronavirus infections.
After the peak from June to August, cases decreased, but this changed in November.
On Thursday, Brazil exceeded 1,000 daily deaths caused by covid-19 for the first time since September.
The country’s immunization program has been widely criticized for being delayed and chaotic, especially because of Bolsonaro’s opposition.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and is published in a syndicated stream.)