ARGENTINA
Vaccination figures plummet under Javier Milei’s presidency
Vaccine skepticism is rising in Argentina. Photo: Mariano Gaspar/Shutterstock
Latin America was among the regions hit hardest by the Covid pandemic, with Peru recording the world’s highest per capita death rate and Brazil tallying more than 700,000 fatalities. But even as hospitals buckled and resources ran thin, several of the region’s leaders dismissed the importance of vaccines.
In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro allegedly falsified his own vaccination records to avoid taking a Covid shot. His stance on the pandemic went some way toward eroding his public support, and played a factor in his failed re-election bid and ensuing political downfall.
👉 Why it matters. The now-jailed Brazilian leader was far from being the only political figure in the region to express skepticism about immunizations, and Latin American public health experts are issuing warnings about increased vaccine hesitancy in the years after the pandemic.
Alarms are now being sounded in Argentina, where the rise of President Javier Milei (a Bolsonaro ally and admirer) has coincided with plummeting vaccination rates among minors.
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