Brazilians Rally Against Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination In Sao Paulo

A group of over 300 people gathered in Brazil’s Sao Paulo on Sunday to protest the idea of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination in the country. The protest was held after Sao Paulo Governor João Doria said that she would support mandatory vaccination once the the vaccine COVID-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac gets an approval, reported Reuters.

The COVID-19 vaccine, developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd. in partnership with Sao Paulo’s Butantan Institute, is now being tested as part of Phase III trials in Sao Paulo.

The protestors asked for the removal of the State Governor after her controversial stand on the issue. They chanted "Doria will fall!" and "Out with Doria!" during the protest.

Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello had earlier announced a deal to purchase 46 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine from China. The announcement prompted strong criticism from President Jair Bolsonaro, who rejected the proposal.

Bolsonaro announced that his decision is not to purchase the vaccine, which has not yet completed the testing. "The Brazilian people will not be anyone’s guinea pig," Bolsonaro said on his social media channels as reported by First Post.

“It isn't ideology, it isn't politics, and it isn't the electoral process that saves. It is the vaccine," Doria, on the other hand, told the reporters.

The proposal for the purchase of Sinovac-Butantan vaccine was estimated at $10.30 each. The cost of the whole acquisition was estimated at $360 million.

Claudio Couto, a political science professor at Getulio Vargas Foundation, observes that the conflict is more to do with President’s political rivalry with Doria and very less to do with the virus. “His concern is to be a strong candidate for re-election, and that often means giving trouble to his adversaries,” Couto told First Post.

A number of vaccines are mandatory in Brazil, including vaccinations for Hepatitis B, which is given to newborn babies. Brazil has had great success with large vaccination campaigns in the past like the one that eradicated polio in the 1980s.

According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, Brazil had nearly 5.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19. It ranked third highest tally in the world after the US and India, second only to the US in terms of deaths.