Brazil surpasses 500,000 COVID-19 deaths, experts warn of imminent third wave

Brazil surpassed the 500,000 dead mark from COVID-19 this Saturday, at a time when the South American giant is heading for a third wave of the disease, according to data from a media consortium that keeps the statistics.

According to the consortium, which collects data from regional health secretariats of the 27 Brazilian states and performs an accounting parallel to that of the Ministry of Health, at 2:15 p.m. local time (5:15 GMT) this Saturday, and without counting all the data of the day, Brazil has accumulated 500,022 deaths from the disease and 17 822,659 cases.

The country has recorded 1,401 daily deaths and 20,483 new viral infections, although the number is expected to be higher by the end of the day, when the health ministry releases the consolidated report.

The data confirms Brazil, with its 210 million inhabitants, as the second country with the most deaths from covid-19 in the world after the United States (601,500) and as the third with the most cases after the North American nation (33.5 million) and India (29.8 million).

The epidemiological curve has accelerated further in recent weeks and many experts agree that The country is on the brink of a third wave of a pandemic, after the rebound in the number of cases and deaths.

The daily average of deaths in the last 7 days has exceeded 2,000 after falling to 1,600 in early June, but we are still far from the 3,000 reached on April 12, when the country experienced its deadliest phase. As for infections, the daily average climbed to 72,000, close to the peak of 77,000 reached on March 25.

Despite the still critical situation of the pandemic, the Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro insists on his position of denial and again affirmed this week that contracting the virus is “more effective than the vaccine”, contrary to what the scientific community defends.

From the start, the president called the coronavirus a “little flu”, resisted containment strategies and was fined last weekend for not wearing a mask at a motorcycle rally in São Paulo. Now he is under investigation by a congressional committee for his disastrous response to the public health emergency.

Those involved in the COVID response – including representatives of pharmaceutical companies – told the commission that the Bolsonaro government rejected offers to buy the vaccine last year. So far, the country has only managed to vaccinate 11.4% of its 212 million citizens.

Worst, Acceptance of the vaccine has also been hampered by Bolsonaro’s fiercely unscientific stance. “The biggest problem in Brazil – and one which has a terrible effect on vaccine acceptance – is denial in politics,” said Chrystina Barros, member of the group fighting Covid-19 at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Janeiro. from Janeiro. The Guardian. “We have a denialist president whose speech and behavior are contrary to medical advice and who urge people not to be vaccinated. It’s a perfect storm ”.

“If Brazil does not take the pandemic seriously, it will continue to affect the whole neighborhood there and beyond,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, at the end of March, and the warning remains in effect. . Denise Garrett, vice president of applied epidemiology at the Sabin Vaccine Institute in Washington, warned a few weeks ago that the situation in Brazil is very worrying. “The country that does not control its epidemic is a risk for other countries, because it is fertile ground for new variants.”

With information from the EFE

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