In a bizarre, and rather hilarious address made by Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, he claimed that the new COVID vaccine might turn humans into crocodiles.
“In the Pfizer contract it’s very clear: ‘we’re not responsible for any side effects.’ If you turn into a crocodile, it’s your problem,” Bolsonaro said on Thursday. That vaccine has been undergoing tests in Brazil for weeks and is already being used in the United States and Britain. “If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they will not have anything to do with it,” he said, referring to the drug manufacturers.
Notably, the Brazilian president had tested positive for the coronavirus in July. He has been criticised by health experts for showing complete disregard for physical distancing norms by attending rallies and meeting groups of supporters, often without wearing a protective mask. A top judge in Brazil had to order Bolsonaro to wear a mask in June.
Meanwhile, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been undergoing trials in Brazil for weeks. The vaccine has already been administered to some people in the United States and the United Kingdom. However, it has had some side effects on some people on whom it had been administered.
Four trial volunteers in the UK who received the vaccine got Bell’s Palsy (a form of temporary facial paralysis). A nurse in USA who was given the vaccine fainted in the middle of a press meet triggering concerns of safety about the vaccine.