Brazilian Coronavirus Vaccine Test: Volunteers Counter Anti-Baxers

“Two-front war,” she said.

This is one of the reasons why a 33-year-old doctor is participating in an vaccine clinical trial by Chinese manufacturer Sinovac. It may be a chance to inoculate herself against the illness that scared her. But it was also a gateway to aligning oneself with evidence and logic, rather than the suspicion or medical falsehood of seeing her prevailing throughout Brazil.

Brazil has long been recognized as one of the most vaccine-friendly countries in the world. We have a history of universal health insurance, strong public health systems, people who trust vaccines, and large, logistically challenging vaccination campaigns. Yellow fever, measles and all other pathogens have been submitted.

The record and the relentless outbreak of the coronavirus, which killed more than 150,000 Brazilians and infected more than 5 million, made Brazil an attractive test site in the global competition for vaccines. Four of the major vaccine candidates are being studied domestically. It’s as much as it is everywhere in the world. Tens of thousands of Brazilians have received test vaccines to ensure their safety and efficacy before they are approved for wider use.

But Brazil’s proud vaccination culture is now in tension. The uncertainties unleashed by the coronavirus pandemic were amplified by social media and repeated by a polarized president who ignored health guidelines and promoted miraculous treatments, but for decades. It has rapidly eroded the trust that has been carefully built.

According to an international survey by Welcome Global Monitor, in June last year, 97% of Brazilians said they believed in the importance of vaccination of their children. That number was higher than the world average of 92% and higher than the region’s neighbors. However, months after the outbreak of the national coronavirus, the number of Brazilians who said they would definitely get the coronavirus vaccine dropped to 76 percent.

Bolsonaro has fallen below that, rather than gaining support for the vaccine.

“No one can be forced to vaccinate,” he said.

Even as researchers proceed with trials, declining support for vaccines worries scientists that Brazil risks losing confidence in its most important science. Many Brazilians are returning to their old routines while the country is still fully aware of the virus. Hundreds, and sometimes more than 1,000, are killed each day. Tens of thousands more will get sick.

“This is a decisive moment,” said João Henrique Rafael Junior, a researcher at the University of São Paulo. In a study released last month, he found that the number of social media posts in Brazil has spread suspicion and that false information about vaccines has nearly quadrupled since the start of the pandemic.

“We need to reverse the curve,” he said. “We are experiencing the worst health crisis of the century and we need to do our best. Now. Actually yesterday.”

Microbiologist Natalia Pastelnack Tashner warned that this situation could lead to disasters.

“We are witnessing something very realistic,” she said. “Brazil could move from a country with a strong traditional vaccine culture to a culture like France or the United States, which has a strong antipathy towards vaccines and people no longer trust them.”

Fábio Jennings was wary of fake news spreading about coronavirus vaccines in Brazil. It is used to control the population. Modifying the recipient’s DNA. It must be made from an aborted fetus.He receives voluntarily Vaccine candidates tested by researchers at Oxford University. He then spoke to anyone who listened in the hope that his experience would help dispel doubts.