(Brazil) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has not been vaccinated against COVID-19, confirmed Thursday that he will travel to the United Nations General Assembly next week in New York, where a vaccination certificate will be mandatory.
“I will be at the United Nations General Assembly next week, and I will give the inaugural address” Tuesday, the far-right head of state said in his traditional speech on social networks.
President Bolsonaro, referring to the management of the epidemic in Brazil, agri-food and energy, added, “It will be a calm, somewhat objective speech focused on the points that concern us.”
Jair Bolsonaro’s participation in the UN General Assembly was called into question on Wednesday when New York authorities required the presentation of a vaccination certificate to get to the meeting.
Le commissaire à la Santé de la ville de New York, Dave Chokshi, a mis en avant le fait que l’amphithéâtre de l’Assemblée générale était « un center de convention » soumis aux mêmes règles que la plupart des espaces intérie in New York.
A few hours later, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he could not impose this restriction on heads of state.
Brazil, with a population of 213 million, is the fourth country in the world in terms of the number of vaccine doses given (214 million), according to data from Our World in Data. But Jair Bolsonaro has so far refused to receive any injections.
The Brazilian president said he will be vaccinated “on the last day, I guarantee it”, and he has reiterated several times that he will be “the last Brazilian” to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
The commander, who contracted the coronavirus last year, once again confirmed that he is indeed immune. “My antibody level is at the top,” he told Health Minister Marcelo Quiroga, who recommended the vaccine.
