Rio de Janeiro: Even as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro launched the country’s mass coronavirus inoculation programme, he insisted he won’t get the vaccine shot.
Bolsonaro was critical of coronavirus vaccines, which have been developed in less than a year. He was particularly scathing on the one developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, saying that their vaccine could turn people into crocodiles or bearded ladies.
“In the Pfizer contract itâ
s very clear: âweâre not responsible for any side effects.â If you turn into a crocodile, itâs your problem,â said Bolsonaro, who tested COVID-positive in July but recovered in three weeks.
The Pfizer vaccine, already being used in Britain and the US, is undergoing tests in Brazil.
âIf you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they (Pfizer-BioNTech) will not have anything to do with it,â he said.
Once the vaccine has been certified by Brazilâs regulatory agency, it will be available for everyone that wants it, said Bolsonaro. âBut me, I wonât get vaccinated.â
âSome people say Iâm giving a bad example. But to the imbeciles, to the idiots that say this, I tell them Iâve already caught the virus, I have the antibodies, so why get vaccinated?â
The countryâs Supreme Court, however, ruled that the vaccine was obligatory, although it canât be âforcedâ on people.
Brazil, in the middle of a second COVID-19 wave, has reported 7.1 million cases and 185,000 deaths so far.