On January 17, 54-year-old nurse Monica Calazans became the first person to receive a coronavirus vaccine in Brazil. The scene provided a jolt of hope, representing the first time the country could feasibly see a way out of the pandemic. One month later, however, Brazil’s vaccination efforts have been marred by shortages of jabs and government inaction facing the crisis.
In 2010, Brazil managed to vaccinate 100 million people against H1N1 — the virus which caused the 2009 swine flu pandemic — in a matter of just three months. This time around, as the country faces its worst health...