Brazil sees 307 COVID-19 deaths, Bolsonaro not worried about vaccine delays

Brazil COVID-19

FILE PHOTO: A man walks next to graffiti depicting a cleaner in protective gear spraying viruses with the face of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazil has registered 307 new COVID-19 deaths, and 17,246 new cases of coronavirus, the health ministry said on Saturday, as President Jair Bolsonaro said he was not worried about delays in rolling out vaccinations in Latin America’s biggest country.

Brazil now has nearly 7.5 million confirmed cases and 190,795 deaths from the virus, ministry data showed.

Bolsonaro, one of the world’s most prominent coronavirus skeptics, has been under fire for his handling of the outbreak. More recently, he has come under pressure over Brazil’s vaccine rollout, which still lacks clarity amid a global scramble for immunizations.

On a stroll in Brasilia Saturday, he was asked by reporters if he felt pressured over criticism of the slow vaccine rollout.

“Nobody pressures me for anything, I don’t give a damn about it,” he said in a video aired on CNN Brasil.

RELATED STORIES

Brazil’s Bolsonaro warns virus vaccine can turn people into crocodiles

Bolsonaro tells Brazil not to deal with pandemic ‘like fags’

Read more...