Vaccine refusal in Brazil grows to 22pc, most reject Chinese shot, says poll

(Reuters) – The share of Brazilians unwilling to take any COVID-19 vaccine grew to 22 per cent this week, from 9 per cent in August, and most said they would not accept one made in China, a new poll showed yesterday, as President Jair Bolsonaro’s comments stoked wider scepticism.

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

Late last month, Bolsonaro said he would not take any coronavirus vaccine that becomes available. One of the world’s most prominent coronavirus sceptics, Bolsonaro said refusal was his “right” and expressed scepticism 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 per cent of participants would take a vaccine made in China, while 50 per cent said they would not take it and 3 per cent said they were undecided.

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