Jair Bolsonaro is wary of coveted vaccines and Brazil is lagging behind

Photographer: Dado Galdieri / Bloomberg

There are presidents and prime ministers all over the world stirring to obtain precious Covid vaccine vials to protect citizens and gain political favor. Not the Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro.

The president, who has underestimated the pandemic from the beginning, refuses to get vaccinated, pooh-pooh needs to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and says the country will wait for prices to fall before buying syringes or needles. On Thursday he said Brazilians don’t even want to vaccines: information obtained by surveying people on the street and on the beach.

“It’s absurd, these are experimental vaccines without scientific evidence. That can’t be imposed on people, “Bolsonaro said.” We have to be responsible. We can’t go with the crowd saying we have to run. “

His dismissal is quickly leaving Brazil behind in the world race to be vaccinated against a virus that has killed nearly 1.9 million people, 200,000 of them in Brazil. Although neighbors in Argentina, Chile and Mexico have begun deploying shots, Brazil doesn’t even have a clear timetable for doing so. Companies have been slow to submit applications to the local regulator, which has 10 days to clear the shots before distributing them. Conversations with Pfizer Inc. have been extended for two months.

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Like U.S. President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro nods at his base in times of crisis. At the height of the pandemic, it sank into crowds, embracing supporters, to the horror of local officials trying to impose restrictions. As criticism grew, Bolsonaro held firm in his stance that the economic toll was more important than the disease, calling those concerned “interested” and insisting that chloroquine (not proven as a treatment) was the solution.

Bolsonaro, who got it became infected and recovered, instituted a $ 60 billion cash program that brought poverty down and raised its approval rating to a record.

“Bolsonaro is a denialist,” said Deysi Cioccari, a political scientist at the Catholic University of Sao Paulo, in explaining his approach. “It doesn’t share the same set of basic facts as others and has a totally hypnotized basis.”

With almost eight million cases, Brazil is among the countries most affected in the world. He was expected to get a better vaccination, given his deep experience through his public health system, known as SUS. It has 35,000 advanced sites and reached 90% of the planned flu vaccines in 2020 despite the pandemic.

The country also has two well-regarded institutions that signed agreements to produce vaccines locally: the Butantan Institute and Fiocruz, in collaboration with Sinovac and AstraZeneca, respectively. And despite what the president said, 73% of citizens say they want to get vaccinated.

Both institutions has submitted applications for emergency vaccine use with regulator Friday.

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The lack of action by the central government has led the 27 Brazilian states to defend themselves with limited means to hunt down agreements in the world. Wealthier states can jump ahead, exacerbating inequalities exposed by the pandemic.

Complaints about the federal government’s inaction have prompted Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello to act. The third man to do so occupying the post since the crisis – a military general with no medical history – harshly rejected criticism this week, saying Brazil had secured 354 million doses of vaccines and that all states would be treated equally. The government, which had opted for the AstraZeneca-Oxford firing, agreed to include that of China Sinovac reinforced the plans despite Bolsonaro’s public objections “because of his origin.”

But Pazuello has also spread the misinformation. At a press conference on Thursday, he said that the AstraZeneca vaccine only requires one vaccine and that the second dose is only to increase the effectiveness to 100%, going from 70%, which is not correct.

He also said there were no vaccines available on the open market for a population of 210 million – admitsaying, indeed, that Brazil had failed to find them soon, and therefore the country should become its own.

The government is negotiating with pharmaceutical companies thinking about the well-being of all Brazilians, the Ministry of Health said in an email. He added that there is still no conclusion on whether a dose of vaccine is enough to maintain immunity in the long run and that it will follow the guidelines of the companies that produce the vaccines.

The presidency said it would not comment beyond Bolsonaro’s internet broadcast and the minister’s press conference.