Bolsonaro says he no longer has a dialogue with the president of Anvisa, who defends childhood vaccination.

BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Jair Bolsonaro stated this Thursday that dialogue with the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has ended and that it is "impossible" to speak with the institution's director-president, Antonio Barra Torres, after again questioning the regulatory body's decision to authorize the vaccination of children against Covid-19.

In his last live broadcast of the year, Bolsonaro said he decided not to vaccinate his daughter and raised concerns about the risks of pediatric immunization against the coronavirus.

"I don't want to talk about Anvisa anymore here, because they've shut down the dialogue; it's impossible to speak with the president of Anvisa right now. We're going to discuss this; it's affecting people's lives. My wife got vaccinated. Our daughter, and we understand that she has nothing to gain from the vaccine," he stated.

Bolsonaro was once close to the CEO of Anvisa -- both are military officers -- but they drifted apart after disagreements over Covid vaccination.

When contacted, Anvisa (the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency) stated, through its press office, that the director-president would not refuse to answer calls or receive contact from the President of the Republic.

The president stated that vaccination for children should be optional, but emphasized that the Ministry of Health has the autonomy to make decisions and urged people to follow the public hearing that will take place at the ministry on January 4th to discuss the matter. The ministry is expected to announce its decision the following day.

Anvisa's leadership became the target of more intense threats after Bolsonaro began publicly questioning the agency's decision to authorize the Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5 to 11. The institution had initially been the target of attacks since October by those opposed to this type of vaccination. The case is under investigation by the Federal Police and under review by the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday that dialogue with the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has ended and that it is "impossible" to speak with the agency's director-president, Antonio Barra Torres, after again questioning the regulator's decision to authorize the vaccination of children against Covid-19.

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