Brazil president accused of threats over Covid-19 shots for kids
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Mr Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly provoked controversy with his handling of the pandemic.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
BRASÍLIA (AFP) - Brazil's health regulator said on Friday (Dec 17) it refused to bow to threats after President Jair Bolsonaro said he wanted the names revealed of those who approved Covid-19 vaccines for children, a remark agency employees called "fascist".
The latest row over the far-right president's controversial pandemic response erupted after federal health regulator Anvisa approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine Thursday for use in children aged five to 11, joining a growing list of countries extending vaccination to children.
Reacting to the announcement in his weekly Facebook live address to supporters, Mr Bolsonaro said he wanted the names of those at the independent agency who made the decision.
"We want to publish those people's names," said the former army captain, who has refused to be vaccinated himself.
"You have the right to know the names of the people who approved the vaccine for your children."
Responding to the president's comments, Anvisa said its officials have been receiving death threats since October over their role in evaluating and approving Covid-19 vaccines, and suggested Mr Bolsonaro's words could add fuel to the fire.
"This agency has become a focus and target of violent political activism," it said in a statement.
"Anvisa vehemently repudiates and rejects any threat, explicit or veiled, aimed at constraining, intimidating or compromising its ability to... protect citizens' health."
An association representing employees of the health regulator, Univisa, also strongly condemned Mr Bolsonaro's comments.
"It looks like a threat of retaliation that resorts to inciting private citizens, an openly fascist method whose results could prove tragic and violent," it said.
Mr Bolsonaro has repeatedly provoked controversy with his handling of the pandemic, from downplaying the virus as a "little flu" to flouting experts' recommendations on stay-at-home measures, face masks and vaccines.
In October, a Senate investigative committee recommended he face criminal charges, including crimes against humanity, for his government's response to Covid-19, which has claimed more than 615,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States.
