Brazilians will not be anyone’s guinea pigs, said President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has canceled the deal concluded by the Ministry of Health of the country to buy the CoronaVac vaccine against COVID-19, developed in China.

“Brazilians will not be anyone’s guinea pigs. That is why I made the decision not to buy this vaccine,” Bolsonaro said.

He also expressed the opinion that it is more profitable to spend money on drugs for COVID-19, and not on a vaccine: “I will express my personal opinion: is it not cheaper and easier to invest in treatment than in a vaccine?”

Bolsonaro, who recovered from the coronavirus in July, continues to advertise the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19, despite the lack of scientific evidence of its effectiveness.

“I am an example. I took chloroquine, others took ivermectin and Annita (antiparasitic drugs. Everything indicates that anyone who took one of these drugs at an early stage was cured,” the Brazilian president said.

Brazil has become one of the countries most affected by the COVID-19 epidemic in the world. More than 5.3 million cases of infection were detected there, 157.2 thousand people died.