The Brazilian Supreme Court has launched an investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro’s claims that the COVID-19 vaccination increases the risk of developing AIDS.
“Official findings from the UK government reveal that fully vaccinated persons… are suffering acquired immunodeficiency syndrome far faster than anticipated,” Bolsonaro remarked in a live broadcast on October 24.
Days later, Facebook and Instagram removed the video, claiming it violated their policies. Following his remarks, Bolsonaro’s account was temporarily disabled on Facebook and YouTube.
COVID-19 vaccinations approved by health regulators are safe for most people, including those living with HIV, the virus that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome known as AIDS, according to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS.
The investigation, which was ordered by Judge Alexandre de Moraes on Friday, would allow the country’s top prosecutor, Augusto Aras, to look into the allegations made by the Senate’s pandemic inquiry.
Bolsonaro “applied the modus operandi of mass diffusion schemes in social networks,” according to Moraes’ verdict, which demands additional investigation.
In October, a Senate investigating committee, known in Portuguese as a CPI, found Bolsonaro guilty of nine crimes, including crimes against humanity, in connection with his widely panned handling of the coronavirus pandemic, and urged that the Supreme Court conduct an investigation.
Because the Supreme Court does not undertake its own investigations, Moraes indicated that he will be closely overseeing the investigation.
“In order for judicial supervision to be carried out in an effective and comprehensive manner, it is indispensable that documents be presented showing the status of the investigation in question,” Moraes said.
Bolsonaro, who maintains he did not receive the vaccine, has disobeyed local health protocols since the outbreak began, claiming that limitations aimed at containing the coronavirus cause more harm than benefit.
He first tested positive for COVID-19 in July 2020, after months of downplaying the virus’s danger.
COVID has claimed the lives of about 615,000 people in Brazil, second only to the United States.
