The rise of ‘vaccine sommeliers’ in Brazil

Despite a recent spurt in Covid-19 vaccinations administered, Brazil remains some distance away from a satisfactory immunization status. Among G20 nations, Brazil ranks 11th in terms of doses given per 100 residents and 12th when it comes to the share of the population that is fully vaccinated.

However, among a significant part of Brazilian citizens, the pressing concern is not about getting as many jabs in arms as possible, it is about the potential side effects and efficacy of the immunizers available — principally the AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines.

A growing number of Brazilians are refusing to vaccinate when faced with the option of taking AstraZeneca or Sinovac doses. For the former, the fear revolves around the jab’s side effects — popularly deemed to be more severe — while Sinovac’s CoronaVac faces questions surrounding its immunization capability. In late-stage clinical trials, the Chinese-made vaccine presented 51-percent efficacy against Covid-19, narrowly surpassing the World Health Organization’s 50-percent threshold.

This has given rise to the phenomenon of what Brazilian social media calls “vaccine sommeliers,” who are not necessarily antivax, but will refuse to receive doses based on the label. As the AstraZeneca and Sinovac vaccines are the most widely available...