Vinícius de Carvalho, Brazil’s Federal Comptroller, has told CNN Brasil that his office has records indicating that former President Jair Bolsonaro, who spent years downplaying the risk posed by the coronavirus pandemic and spreading vaccine disinformation, received a dose of the Janssen vaccine on July 19, 2021.
However, the Federal Comptroller’s Office is investigating whether the record is authentic or if it has been tampered with. Carvalho informed the cable news station that an investigation into the authenticity of the vaccination record was opened on December 30.
A report published on Thursday revealed that Mr. Carvalho’s office formally requested vaccination records from the Health Ministry pertaining to the former far-right president.
Mr. Bolsonaro has repeatedly spread misinformation around Covid vaccines. He said they were “experimental,” even after they were approved by health agencies such as Anvisa, Brazil’s federal healthcare regulator. The far-right leader has also made false claims that vaccines were linked to the development of AIDS. For the latter comment, he and an aide were investigated by the Federal Police and found to have committed a crime by inciting people not to vaccinate or wear masks based on false information.
In addition to overseeing a slow Covid vaccine rollout, the Bolsonaro administration has witnessed declining vaccination rates for several diseases in recent years.