Vaccine refusal in Brazil grows to 22 percent, most reject Chinese COVID-19 shot

The share of Brazilians unwilling to take any COVID-19 vaccine grew to 22 percent this week, from 9 percent in August, and most said they would not accept one made in China, a new poll showed on Saturday, as President Jair Bolsonaro’s comments stoked wider skepticism.

The survey by pollster Datafolha found 73 percent of respondents plan to take a shot and 5 percent do not know if they will, compared to 89 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in August.

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Late last month, Bolsonaro said he would not take any coronavirus vaccine that becomes available. One of the world’s most prominent coronavirus skeptics, Bolsonaro said refusal was his “right” and expressed skepticism specifically about the vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac and produced in conjunction with Sao Paulo state government’s Butantan Institute.

According to Datafolha, only 47 percent of participants would take a vaccine made in China, while 50 percent said they would not take it and 3 percent said they were undecided.

The figures showed a correlation between vaccine rejection and trust in President Bolsonaro. A total of 33 percent of people who said they always trust Bolsonaro are unwilling to take a shot, against 16 percent of those who say they would never trust the president.

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