![]() The president's initial choice for health minister, Dr Ludhmila Hajjar, declined the job after meeting with Bolsonaro on Sunday, citing "divergent" views. "Bolsonaro can't stand those things," he said. That's essential to avoid the total collapse of the health system." "But we hope more changes are on the way, like backing mask use and restrictive measures. "It's a positive change," said epidemiologist Julio Croda of the University of Mato Grosso do Sul. The message appeared to cause some head-scratching among hardline supporters, more used to their leader touting actual guns and railing against Covid-19 vaccines. His son Flavio, a senator, urged the president's fans online to share a picture of a syringe mounted on a machine gun, with the caption "the vaccine is our weapon." The "aggressivity" extends to the realm where Bolsonaro thrives best: social media. "We are going to a more aggressive phase in the fight against the virus," said Bolsonaro. People want vaccines."īrazil has so far struggled to secure enough vaccine doses for its 212 million people.īut Pazuello announced a change in course on his way out: orders for 100 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and another 38 million of Johnson & Johnson's. "Now the president's been advised to change because the pandemic is getting worse. Pazuello, who stayed in the job 10 months, "only lasted as long as he did because he did everything the president wanted," said commentator Andreia Sadi of TV Globo. He replaced him with Marcelo Queiroga, a respected cardiologist.īolsonaro is now on his fourth health minister of the pandemic, after falling out with the previous two when they insisted on science-based policy responses. With hospitals across much of Brazil approaching breaking point, Bolsonaro gave in Monday to pressure to fire health minister Eduardo Pazuello, an army general with no medical experience. "At this point, the only hope for a change in direction is a fear of losing votes - the one thing Bolsonaro reacts to," newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo said in an editorial. There were 83,926 new infections in the same period, the second-highest 24-hour case count since the pandemic began. ![]() The country saw yet another day of record deaths Tuesday, with 2,841 people dying in 24 hours - an increase of more than 550 over the previous record last week. The politician dubbed the "Tropical Trump" has also flouted expert advice on social distancing and face masks.Ī recent poll found 61 percent of people disapprove of his response to the pandemic, which has claimed some 280,000 lives in Brazil - second only to the United States. ![]() That is something Bolsonaro has pointedly refused to do, once joking the vaccine might "turn you into an alligator". Lula, who led the country from 2003 to 2010, wasted no time condemning Bolsonaro's "imbecile" handling of the pandemic and getting vaccinated before the cameras. The surprise ruling cleared the way for the popular-if-tarnished left-wing heavyweight to launch a potential run against Bolsonaro in presidential elections next year. Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox.The political pressure increased a few notches last week, when a Supreme Court justice annulled former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's corruption convictions. He's being pressured by his allies, especially in Congress, because the pandemic is out of control," he told AFP. His beliefs are still the same," said political scientist Geraldo Monteiro of Rio de Janeiro State University. "I don't see him making a definitive change. Gone are the days when COVID-19 was a "little flu" - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has changed his pandemic-skeptic tune lately, sacking his widely criticized health minister, ordering millions of vaccines and even wearing a mask.īut while a surge in coronavirus deaths in hard-hit Brazil has put the far-right leader on the defensive, analysts doubt he will change his hardline stance on some key issues anytime soon - including his vitriolic opposition to stay-at-home measures.
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