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Nísia Trindade distributed Zé Gotinha pins to help mark the formal start of the national vaccination campaign.

This week, the Brazilian government is launching a mass vaccination campaign against influenza and measles, and is boosting vaccination efforts with bivalent vaccines against Covid-19.

Minister of Health, Nisia Trindade; President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Minister of Education, Camilo Santana (Photo: Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil)

From the Brasília branch of 247 – Before the ministerial meeting and speeches by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, and Chief of Staff Rui Costa began, Health Minister Nísia Trindade distributed pins with the image of "Zé Gotinha" (Little Droplet Joe). The successful idea was to mark the return of the icon from the public vaccination campaigns that made Brazil world-renowned and celebrated as one of the nations with the most successful mass immunization policies. 

During Jair Bolsonaro's presidency, after Lula succeeded him, the Ministry of Health's vaccination campaigns were neglected, and especially during the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, the then-head of the Executive branch, Bolsonaro, downplayed the effectiveness of vaccines. This week, the Brazilian government is launching a mass vaccination campaign against influenza and measles, and is boosting vaccination efforts with bivalent vaccines against Covid-19.

During his speech commemorating the progress made in the first 100 days of his administration, President Lula announced that the Presidential Palace will require an up-to-date vaccination card for everyone needing access to the headquarters of the Executive Branch – including those who work at the Presidential Palace.