Jair Bolsonaro apologizes for disinformation about vaccines

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro apologized this Sunday after wrongly stating that messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against COVID-19 contain “graphene”a substance that, according to him, accumulates in “testicles and ovaries”.

The far-right leader made the statement on Saturday at an event Liberal Party (PL)his political formation, along with his former minister of science and technology and current senator Marcos Ponteswithin the country São Paulo.

The former president then claimed that he had read in the packaging instructions for vaccines developed with mRNA technology that they contained particles “graphene”a statement he attributed today to a “mistake” on his part.

“As it is in the public domain, I am excited about the employment potential of graphene oxide and inadvertently linked the substance to a vaccine, a fact rejected in August 2021. Once again I regret what I said and apologize,” he said on his social media. .

Bolsonaro ruled in between 2019 and 2022 and during the coronavirus pandemic, he adopted an attitude of denial, minimized the severity of the virus, censored the imposition of isolation measures, rejected the use of masks and raised unfounded doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines.

The former head of state came to his senses link anticovid vaccines to AIDS in a live broadcast on his social networks, which led to the opening of an investigation in Supreme Court related to the spread of fake news.

Brazil is one of the countries most affected by the coronavirus, and it is still piling up 703,399 dead and around 40 million cases, according to official data.

Bolsonaro’s apologies come before the start of the trial in Higher Electoral Court (TSE) for abuse of political power by spreading false news about elections, which could ultimately disqualify him politically.