Vaccination rush 'not justified' — Brazil's Bolsonaro

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro dismissed the global hurry to buy and distribute coronavirus vaccines in comments posted online on Saturday.

"The rush is not justified," Bolsonaro said in the video posted on social media by one of his sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro.

"It is interference in the lives of the people," he said.

The comments came after the Brazilian leader, who has played down the seriousness of the virus from the start of the pandemic, criticized vaccine developers Pfizer and BioNTech on Thursday and seemed to stoke public fears about potential side effects from getting a jab.

"In the contract it is clearly stated that Pfizer is not responsible for adverse reactions. If you turn into a caiman, that's your problem," he said, laughing. The caiman is a semi-aquatic reptile similar to an alligator.

More than seven million people have contracted coronavirus in Brazil, the biggest country in Latin America with a population of around 210 million.

With a death toll is nearing 200,000, Brazil is recording new highs in fatalities almost daily.

But Bolsonaro has said the pandemic is coming to an end in Brazil.

---GNA