Covid-19: President Jair Bolsonaro criticizes "the haste" around vaccination
For the Brazilian president, once the vaccine is approved, Brazil will buy it and distribute it across the country, but it will only be given on a voluntary basis.
Andre Coelho AFP / Archivos
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
While several countries on the American continent, such as the United States, Canada and soon Argentina, have started the vaccination campaign against Covid-19, the Brazilian president does not seem in a hurry to do the same.
Jair Bolsonaro estimated Saturday, December 19 that "the haste" to vaccinate populations against the coronavirus was not justified, while the national immunization plan of his government is the target of many criticisms.
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“
The pandemic is coming to an end.
The numbers have shown it.
We currently have a small increase, which is called a small rebound,
”said the Brazilian president in an interview with his son, MP Eduardo Bolsonaro, posted on YouTube.
"
But the rush for the vaccine is not justified, because you are interfering in people's lives
,
"
said Jair Bolsonaro before continuing:
"
You inject a product and your immune system can react in an unexpected way. .
So, before distributing the vaccine, it must be approved by the health authorities.
Otherwise, it would be irresponsible!
"
For the Brazilian president, once the vaccine is approved, Brazil will buy it and distribute it across the country.
"
But we will only give it to those who wish to be vaccinated, it will be on a voluntary basis
," he said.
There is no conflict around the distribution of the vaccine, I am not trying to make it a subject of political debate.
All we hope for is a safe vaccine.
"
A rebound in contaminations in the country
The far-right president has regularly expressed doubts about vaccines, citing their possible side effects, just as he strongly opposed the containment measures decreed by the governors of Brazilian states by noting their harmful effects on the disease. economy.
Brazil is, after
the United States
, the country most heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic and has experienced a rebound in contamination and deaths since November.
In the past 24 hours, Brazil has recorded 50,177 new cases and 706 deaths.
Since the arrival of the virus, 7.2 million cases and 186,356 deaths have been recorded by the Brazilian authorities.
In several regions of the world, we are witnessing a rise in contamination which has led several countries to reinstate containments and other restrictive measures.
►Read: The cold chain of Covid-19 vaccines
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