Irish Examiner view: Protests critical of Brazil's handling of pandemic

Protests across Brazil have slammed president Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the country's Covid-19 outbreak.

A woman, wearing a face mask, holds a sign in the shape of a cross with a message that reads in Portuguese;"500 k deaths", during a protest against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his handling of the pandemic and economic policies protesters say harm the interests of the poor and working-class, in Cuiaba, Brazil. Picture: AP Photo/Andre Penner

The vaccination rollout continues apace. From yesterday, those aged 39 can register for a vaccine. Those aged 38 can register from today, but age restrictions, just as supply did earlier in the programme, slow the offensive in a frustrating, if unavoidable, way. Nevertheless, over 60% of the population has received at least one dose and 31% are fully protected.

This is an achievement not to be scoffed at, especially as swathes of the world’s population have no such protection yet. Poverty, as it always is, is the primary vulnerability, but anti-science political cultures continue to play a part in unnecessarily exposing millions to the plague.