RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga on Thursday, September 16, said that Brazil will soon dispense with the obligation to wear masks. According to President Jair Bolsonaro, the ordinance should be issued “soon”.
“Soon, we will be free from the obligation to wear masks. Those who want to wear masks, do so. But this mania of wanting to create laws for everything…Soon there will be a law requiring children to be vaccinated to go to school. You don’t need a vaccine to go to school,” said Queiroga in a live stream on social networks alongside President Jair Bolsonaro. “As the epidemiological scenario improves,” the Minister added.
In a new attack on vaccines, Bolsonaro further stated that without being vaccinated, he has greater immunity than those who have taken the Coronavac.
“There is no scientific evidence,” Bolsonaro attested, criticizing Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes, who decided to force civil servants to get vaccinated. “Whoever took the Coronavac, complicated matters.”
However, the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) granted emergency use authorization for this vaccine and guarantees its safety and efficacy.
Queiroga also assured that there will be no vaccine shortages for the Brazilian population. However, a “blackout” of AstraZeneca vaccines was registered recently, which led states such as São Paulo to use the Pfizer immunizer in citizens with a late second dose of the Oxford vaccine.