President Bolsonaro Reiterates That Covid Vaccine Will Not Be Compulsory

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Friday morning, January 22nd, President Jair Bolsonaro reiterated that vaccination against Covid-19 will not be compulsory. But, since they were approved by ANVISA (National Health Regulatory Agency) they will be distributed throughout the country.

“People were saying that I was against the vaccine. I was against a vaccine before ANVISA approved it, after ANVISA approved it there’s nothing more to discuss. We have to distribute the vaccine.”

According to him, the vaccines’ use is “only in emergencies” and he advised Brazilians to read the package insert (in this case, the contracts) of immunizers to know what they are taking. The President has been complaining that laboratories want to exempt themselves from potential side effects of doses.

Bolsonaro was unable to provide new data on the arrival of the two million doses of the Oxford University vaccine, due to arrive from India on Friday, January 22nd, nor on when the states will receive their shares of the shipment. According to the President, logistic details are the responsibility of the Ministries of Health and Defense.

Bolsonaro has already declared that he will not take any vaccine because he has already been infected and therefore, in his words, immunized. There is no scientific evidence for his theory, as cases of reinfection have already been recorded in Brazil.

The President’s statement to the press occurred outside the Alvorada Palace, after several months of not providing statements to journalists outside his official residence.

He threatened to end the interviews after being asked by a reporter if he still believed that only 50% of the Brazilian population would be immunized. He stated this to supporters earlier this year, saying that the survey had been conducted by himself, on the beach, in the streets and in the places he had been attending.

Source: R7