Brazil's Bolsonaro assures free COVID-19 vaccine for all, says 'it won't be mandatory'

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday, December 7 said his government will provide the COVID-19 vaccine to all for free once it gets approval from the country's regulator Anvisa. Bolsonaro, in a Twitter post, said his government is ready to deploy the COVID-19 vaccine for all without any charge once regulator Anvisa approves the safety and efficacy of a potential drug.

Bolsonaro said his finance ministry has assured that there will be no shortage of resources and "everyone will be served". However, the president, who once said that he would refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine, declared the vaccine would not be mandatory.

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Following Bolsonaro's tweet, Sao Paulo’s Butantan Institute biomedical center, which conducted the trials for the CoronaVac vaccine, informed that all necessary data have been or will be sent to Anvisa for approval. CoronaVac has been developed by the Chinese company Sinovac Biotech Ltd and Bolsonaro, an aggressive critic of Beijing, seems to be okay with the vaccine getting approval from Anvisa. 

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Relations between Bolsonaro and Sao Paulo's Governor Joao Doria are also not very pleasing, with the two often engaging in a war of words over a range of issues, including vaccines. Doria has backed the Chinese vaccine for his state and is aiming to deploy the drug later next month. Earlier, Bolsonaro had rejected Sao Paulo's request to purchase the CoronaVac vaccine, saying Brazilians will not be anyone's guinea pig. However, it now seems that Bolsonaro is ready to accept even a Chinese vaccine if proven safe and effective. 

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COVID-19 in Brazil

Brazil is one of the worst affected countries in the world with over 6.6 million COVID-19 cases and more than 1,77,000 deaths to date. Bolsonaro has received a lot of criticism for his handling of the pandemic as he is guilty of often downplaying the importance of face masks and social distancing by visiting packed public places without any face covering. The right-wing president, who contracted the disease earlier this year, is also guilty of recommending unproven drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. 

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