No jabs, no gain!

Vaccines are important and they save lives. 

Under normal circumstances, this would not be an issue worthy of debate. But that’s the problem: Brazil hasn’t been under normal circumstances for the past four years, with a leader in the presidential palace who repeatedly questioned the efficacy of vaccines — and, to make matters worse, doing so in the midst of a deadly viral pandemic. 

With the return to some degree of normalcy in government under President Lula, people are now getting excited about actions that once were taken for granted. What would be the surprise of seeing a president getting vaccinated, if it weren’t for his anti-vax predecessor?

That’s the case in Brazil today. During a symbolic ceremony this week, Lula received his fifth Covid shot at the hands of his vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, himself a trained doctor. The act was widely heralded as the beginning of a new era in Brazil when it comes to state-led discourse on immunization. 

The event also launched a nationwide call for people to keep their vaccination records up to date, basically doing what they were always accustomed to in Brazil, when there was little to no evidence of discussion about something as obvious as protecting one’s immune system.

But, well, after the mess, comes the cleanup. And Brazil will have to work hard to clean up the trail of disinformation that has unfortunately haunted millions of people at one of the times when most could count on a well-structured system around vaccines and health advocacy. 

Also good news for Brazil’s vaccination mascot Zé Gotinha, or ‘Droplet Joe,’ who is back “in full force to fight fake news and increase vaccination,” according to the new government. 

Go deeper: Bolsonaro probably took Covid vaccine, despite anti-vax antics