Brazilian doctors volunteered to try the nCoV vaccine

RIO DE JANEIRO Larissa Bragança Itaborahy, a Covid-19 patient physician, is one of tens of thousands of people receiving the experimental nCoV vaccine.

The reason Dr. Itaborahy (33) volunteered to try the nCoV vaccine from Sinovac, a "candidate" developed by China, is to fight doubts surrounding the safety and effectiveness of clinical trials. . She said that at present the world is not only facing the Covid-19 epidemic but also against the storm of false information.

Dr. Larissa Bragança Itaborahy is receiving a test shot of nCoV vaccine developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac in Brazil. Photo provided by Larissa Bragança Itaborahy.

As a doctor specializing in treating Covid-19 patients, the risk of infection of Larissa Bragança Itaborahy is quite high. Volunteering to try the vaccine gives her the chance to vaccinate against a disease that many people fear when it comes to, against growing suspicions in her territory.

The Covid-19 outbreak in Brazil caused 150,000 deaths, more than 5 million people infected, the country became one of the test sites for the global nCoV vaccine race. Four of the top "candidates" are being studied domestically. Tens of thousands of Brazilians have received experimental vaccines, which have been tested for safety and effectiveness before they are approved for wider use.

PUC-Campinas Hospital in Brazil will be receiving the nCoV vaccine "candidate" from the US company Johnson & Johnson to test on 1,000 volunteers. Photo: Fotoarena.

Previously, Brazil was touted as one of the countries with "friendly" immunization cultures in the world. People are almost entirely confident in the government and Ministry of Health vaccines, but there have been signs of stress lately.

The instability caused by the pandemic was widely shared across the media. In addition, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro proclaims the antimalarial drug as a cure for Covid-19, despite scientific doubts about its effectiveness and its side effects, contributing to the influence of confidence in people enter the health system of this country.

According to an international survey conducted by Wellcome Global Monitor in June 2019, 97% of Brazilians said they believe in the importance of vaccinating children. This is higher than the global average of 92% and higher than that of neighboring countries in the region. But months after Brazil's Covid-19 outbreak, the proportion of people in the country saying they will definitely get the nCoV vaccine fell to 76%.

Instead of rallying support for the new vaccine, President Bolsonaro cut support. This move comes as researchers are testing new vaccines, causing them to gradually worry that Brazilians may skip the "golden moment" to research and test vaccines, to end the epidemic in this country.