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BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Thursday evening that he would not take a vaccine against the coronavirus, the latest in a series of statements he has made expressing his skepticism about vaccination programs against the coronavirus.
In statements broadcast live on several social media platforms, the right-wing leader added that Congress was unlikely to force Brazilians to be vaccinated.
Brazil has the second-highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world, and Bolsonaro has played down the severity of the pandemic for months despite being infected with the virus in July.
“I’m telling you, I’m not going to take it. It’s my right, ”he said.
Bolsonaro also expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of wearing a mask on the show, implying that there was little conclusive evidence that masks were effective in stemming the transmission of the virus.
The president has said on several occasions that Brazilians would not be required to be vaccinated when a vaccine against the coronavirus becomes widely available. In October, he joked on Twitter that the vaccination would only be required for his dog.
Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Gram Slattery; Edited by Ana Nicolaci da Costa
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