Covid-19 Vaccination Coverage: An Analysis of the Policy's Effect on Vaccination
Vaccination coverage; Educational level; Discontinuous regression; Differences-in-differences
In 2020, while many countries began Covid-19 vaccination campaigns, Brazil faced challenges in coordinating vaccine procurement amid statements from President Jair Bolsonaro questioning the effectiveness of vaccination. Vaccination in Brazil only started in January 2021 and, due to limited availability, followed a gradual schedule prioritizing specific groups. The president’s stance influenced attitudes toward social distancing and vaccine distribution, as shown in previous studies that analyzed the impact of political alignment on adherence to public health measures. This study aims to examine the relationship between political support for the President and indicators such as vaccination coverage and death rates, with a particular focus on the influence of the population's educational level on these variables. Although previous research has examined the impact of Bolsonaro’s vote base, there are still no specific analyses on how different educational levels influence attitudes toward Covid-19 vaccination. The study is structured into sections covering the literature on ideological preferences, data description, regression models, analysis through discontinuous regression, and differences-in-differences analysis.