Brazil's health agency asks President Jair Bolsonaro to retract anti-vaccine remarks

Brazil’s health agency chief, retired rear admiral Antonio Barra Torres, recently urged the country’s President Jair Bolsonaro to retract statements he made criticising the health regulator Anvisa for authorising the COVID-19 vaccine for children. Even though the COVID-19 vaccinations have been proven to be safe for children aged five and up by Brazil's health regulator as well as authorities throughout the globe, Bolsonaro last week had stated that vaccines might cause adverse effects in youngsters but gave no evidence. 

In response to the President’s criticism, Antonio Barra Torres wrote a letter to Jair Bolsonaro, which was made public on Saturday. He asked Bolsonaro to back his statement that there were undisclosed “interests” behind the vaccine decision or retract his words. 

Brazilian President, who has boasted about not being inoculated and has questioned the efficiency and safety of coronavirus vaccinations, stated in a radio interview that there had not been many child fatalities from COVID-19 to support immunisation of youngsters. He even said that his 11-year-old daughter Laura would not be inoculated against the deadly virus. 

Talking about the vaccination of children, Bolsonaro said, “Are you going to vaccinate your child when the possibility of dying is almost zero? What is behind this? What are the interests of vaccine maniacs?", Australian Associated Press reported. In addition to this, Bolsonaro cautioned that Pfizer is not responsible for any negative effects the vaccination may cause in children and that parents should seek medical attention immediately if their kid has chest pains or shortness of breath.

Brazil's COVID-19 outbreak

It is imperative to note here Anvisa and health regulators around the globe have found that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe for those from age 5 and up. The Brazilian health agency has even authorised the Pfizer vaccine shots for children. It has purchased 20 million Pfizer-developed vaccines for children and will start voluntary inoculation of youngsters aged 5-11 by the end of this month.

Meanwhile, by the beginning of December, nearly 300 children aged between five to eleven have lost their lives in Brazil due to COVID-19 disease, as per the National Council of State Health Secretaries. Further, the President's criticism came as the government recorded 24,382 new COVID-19 instances in the previous 24 hours. As per Worldometers, over 22,523,907 individuals have been affected by the disease in Brazil since the outbreak, and more than 620,031 people have lost their lives. 

Image: AP