Brazil senator says Bolsonaro never wanted Covid-19 vaccines, preferred herd immunity

The senator in-charge of the upper house's investigation into the government's handling of the crisis said that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro refused to purchase Covid-19 vaccines, preferring to rely on herd immunity to defeat the coronavirus.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro never wanted to buy Covid-19 vaccines and originally bet on herd immunity beating the coronavirus, the senator leading the upper house's inquiry into the government's handling of the crisis said on Friday. In an interview, Senator Renan Calheiros said it is too early to say if Bolsonaro had committed any criminal offence in his management of the public health crisis, and that more investigation is required. "I think everything points in that direction," Calheiros said, regarding Bolsonaro's preference for herd immunity.