Once Again Brazilians Reject a Vaccine, This Time Led by Their President
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Ever since a 1904 revolt against the smallpox vaccine, Brazil has run extremely successful vaccination programs. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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The world is eagerly awaiting the release of several Covid-19 vaccines, but Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is not.
Bolsonaro, who came down with Covid-19 in July, has also criticized face masks. He and his more faithful supporters oppose any suggestion of mandatory coronavirus vaccinations.
Vaccine resistance has a long history in Brazil.
In November 1904, thousands of people in the city of Rio de Janeiro protested government-mandated smallpox vaccinations in a famous revolt that nearly ended with a coup.