Brazil President claims Covid-19 vaccines may cause AIDS; Supreme Court orders investigation 

Weeks after being temporarily banned by Facebook and YouTube for falsely claiming that the Covid-19 vaccines may increase the risk of contracting AIDS, an investigation has been ordered against Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro by the country’s Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro had made the comments during a live broadcast on multiple social media platforms in October, where he suggested that fully vaccinated people in the United Kingdom (UK) had been contracting AIDS faster than the others. His channel was subsequently suspended for violating rules regarding misinformation. Instagram and Facebook took down the videos as well. “Official reports from the UK government suggest that fully vaccinated people … are developing acquired immunodeficiency syndrome much faster than anticipated,” the President had said during the live broadcast.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS have assured that the Covid vaccines approved by health regulators are safe for most people, including those living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. In his ruling, Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered the probe, said, “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.”