Do you know what the vaccine uprising was in Brazil?

Recently, the debate on compulsory vaccination against Covid-19 in Brazil has gained prominence in the media. Some people are against the obligation to get vaccinated, others are in favor. The vaccine is a biological preparation, created for the body to develop immunity against a specific disease.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 2-3 million people are saved each year through vaccination and 1.5 million children die each year from lack of vaccination.

The Brazilian constitution of 1998 does not mention the obligation to vaccinate, but protects the right to public health of every citizen residing in the country. This November marks 116 years since Brazil experienced the vaccine revolt, organized by the population.

Vaccine uprising in Brazil.

The vaccine revolt was a popular rebellion that took place in Rio de Janeiro in November 1904. At the time, the people of Rio de Janeiro suffered from various diseases resulting from the lack of basic sanitation in the then capital of Brazil.

The trigger for the event was the mandatory antiviral vaccine which ended with protests in the streets of the city.

Vaccination

The doctor Oswaldo Cruz (1872-1917), was hired in 1903, to coordinate public health in the then capital of the country, the doctor’s promise was to eradicate the diseases that plagued Rio de Janeiro in 1904, such as; yellow fever, bubonic plague and smallpox.

The campaign developed by Oswaldo Cruz and approved on October 31 of the same year, required any Brazilian over six months of age to be vaccinated against smallpox.

If he did not act according to the law, he could not marry, study, work and even travel. All his shares in the company have been deactivated.

How did it happen?

The fact that Rio de Janeiro was not a planned city, due to the colonial period, counted a lot for the situation to get to this point, tons of garbage piled up on the city streets, which helped the disease viruses spread through rodents and mosquitoes.

The activities for the reformulation of the city were carried out by the mayor Pereira Passos, who authorized the destruction of public houses, the widening of the streets, the eviction of the poor population who lived in the center of the city in other locations.

When vaccination became mandatory for the population and health workers began invading people’s homes with police assistance for vaccination without the individual’s consent.

The population received no information clarifying what was happening, no communiqué explaining the importance of the vaccine or information on how to prevent the disease.

That moment was the stimulus for the population to turn on vaccination, the government and measures for the implementation of quality basic sanitation.

The movements organized by the popular strata of Rio de Janeiro took to the streets between 10 and 16 November, the demonstrations acted against public health agents and police and had the support of the military who tried in vain to carry out a coup. state against the then president of the republic, Rodrigues Alves.

Consequences

On November 16, 1904, the vaccination obligation law was readjusted, making it optional for the individual to be vaccinated or not.
According to Educa + Brasil, the Vaccine Uprising was responsible for 30 deaths, 110 people and 1,406 people deported or incarcerated.

Smallpox

Of unknown origin, smallpox is classified into two types, smallpox and smallpox or smallpox, which is the more moderate classification of the disease.

The initial symptoms are similar to those of the flu; fever, malaise, then the symptoms evolve into vomiting, formation of ulcers in the mouth and skin rashes that cause deformity, in the most serious cases the disease causes the death of the infected person.
The origin of the virus is unknown and has no cure, the most effective control measure is vaccination. In 1980, the WHO reported that the disease killed more than 300 million people in the 20th century alone and declared the eradication of smallpox worldwide.