Coronavirus: Brazilians protest against Chinese vaccine, mandatory immunisation
- Demonstrators gather in Sao Paulo, where shot made by China’s Sinovac is being tested with support of city government
- President Jair Bolsonaro has clashed with mayor Joao Doria over whether Covid-19 vaccine will be compulsory when it is available
More than 300 Brazilians gathered on Sao Paulo’s main commercial thoroughfare on Sunday to protest state Governor Joao Doria’s support for mandatory Covid-19 immunisation and testing the potential vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac.
Doria has previously spoken in favour of making immunisations mandatory, once vaccines are available, sparking a spat with President Jair Bolsonaro who vows it will be voluntary. The Supreme Court’s chief justice has said the court will ultimately decide on the issue.
A number of vaccines are obligatory in Brazil, including for example Hepatitis B which is given to newborns. Brazil has had great success with large vaccination campaigns in the past, eradicating polio in the 1980s for example.
In Sao Paulo, the Sinovac vaccine is being tested as part of phase three clinical trials with support from the Doria government.
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Never-ending cemeteries stretch across Brazilian cities as coronavirus cases soar
Brazil’s federal health ministry announced last month it would buy 46 million doses of the vaccine, contingent on regulatory approval, in a deal supported by state governors. But a day later right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro said that Brazil would not buy the vaccine.
