Brazil in health crashes in most cities, more young people die from COVID-19

Some 2,800 people under the age of 40 have died in the country so far in March, more than double the number during the same period in February and nearly three times the number in January. The death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 3,600 on Saturday and some states have deepened restrictions.

As Brazil grapples with the world’s deadliest coronavirus epidemic, the death toll is rising among young people, a worrying trend some experts attribute to a local variant of the virus that has started to spread throughout the world. other parts of the world. “We are seeing a prevalence of younger patients, without comorbidities, hospitalized with very serious symptoms,” warns Dr Jaques Sztajnbok, supervisor of the intensive care unit (ICU) at Emilio Ribas Hospital in São Paulo. “This seems to be a common situation in all ICUs in Brazil,” the 55-year-old doctor adds with concern.

So far this month, some 2,800 people under the age of 40 have died from the coronavirus in Brazil, more than double the number during the same period in February and almost triple the number in January, data shows. of the government.

The elderly still account for the vast majority of Covid-19 deaths in Brazil, as in virtually all countries, but the proportion of young Brazilians dying has increased slightly: around 6% of deaths in Brazil this month were among people from less than 40 years, against less. more than 5% in February.

According to official data, deaths of Brazilians between the ages of 30 and 59 started to increase in December and in almost three months they have risen from 20% to almost 27% of the total.

Young people are also sicker than in previous waves of the pandemic, local doctors told Forbes, CNN and Bloomberg this week, and ICUs in Brazilian hospitals are now frequently treating young Covid-19 patients who previously. “Half of the patients admitted to our services are under 60 – underlines Luiz Carlos Pereira Junior, director of Emilio Ribas – a year ago, there were 35%.”

Some experts have blamed the new variant of the coronavirus that has struck Brazil in recent months and helped fuel a brutal resurgence of Covid-19: the p.1 strain is terrifying because it may be more contagious than previous versions and capable of re-infect people. Studies suggest it could be up to twice as transmissible and re-infect 25 to 61% of people who have had COVID-19.

The variant first discovered in the western city of Manaus has been responsible for the dramatic increase in infections and deaths and has been detected in the United States, Europe and other parts of Latin America.

The country’s neighbors are slamming their doors. Peru, Colombia and Argentina have suspended flights from the country. Only two of the top ten destination countries for Brazilians are still open to them. “If Brazil is not taken seriously, it will continue to affect the entire neighborhood there and beyond,” warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the World Health Organization.

That a variant like p.1 originated in Manaus is no surprise, Natalia Pasternak, a microbiologist who heads the Questão de Ciência Institute, which advocates the use of science to shape human beings, told The Economist. policies. The first wave in the city was so severe that some thought group immunity had been breached. Residents flocked to the beaches at the first opportunity, giving p.1 a quick start to life. When he emerged from the jungle, other parts of the country gave him the same welcome. Although very little genetic sequencing is carried out in Brazil to know with certainty its degree of spread, studies carried out in the state of São Paulo identify the variant in 80 to 90% of cases.

P.2, another disturbing variant of Rio de Janeiro, is also spreading. “There is a much more transmissible virus,” Brazilian biologist Natália Pasternak told CNN. “It’s going to infect more people, even more young people,” he said.

307,112 Brazilians have died from Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to government data, a higher death toll than any other country outside the United States. In recent weeks, Brazil has overtaken the United States in daily infections and deaths, making its Covid-19 outbreak the worst in the world.

The country, of 212 million inhabitants, is facing the “biggest health and hospital collapse” in its history, according to the Fiocruz Foundation. Of the 27 states, 25 have an ICU occupation equal to or greater than 80%. And the hospitalization of a younger population increases the pressure.

In 18 states, there is a shortage of drugs such as neuromuscular blockers, which are used when patients are on ventilators. In six states, the oxygen supply is dangerously low, according to the Department of Health. The National Governors Forum warns that shortages threaten to cause “collapse within collapse.”

San Pablo, for example, recorded the first death last Thursday due to lack of space in an intensive care unit. The victim: a 22-year-old man.

“The stay in intensive care beds has almost doubled (from 15 to 28 days). This is explained by the fact that we have received young people who are more resistant to the disease than the old ones, ”Globo Graccho Alvim, president of the Association of Private Hospitals of Rio de Janeiro, told the newspaper.

Additionally, Brazil has fewer social distancing rules than some other countries, and President Jair Bolsonaro has openly opposed the closures, mocked people who care about the coronavirus, and lobbied local governments to let them lift the restrictions.

“Severity is rare,” denounces The Economist to explain why the mismanagement of the pandemic in Brazil is a threat to the world. “Bolsonaro proclaimed healers cures, lambasted the blockades and tried to block the release of data. He has just sacked the third Minister of Health (an army general) since the start of the pandemic. Vaccines are not for him, Bolsonaro said. His government was slow to ask for them, despite the fact that manufacturers like Pfizer and Janssen tested them in Brazil, ”he accuses.

This month, the federal government finally agreed to buy the vaccine from Pfizer and the single dose from Janssen. They will complement the AstraZeneca and Chinese CoronaVac vaccines already administered. Brazil has also started domestic production. Fiocruz delivered its first homemade doses of AstraZeneca; The Butantan Institute in São Paulo has started manufacturing CoronaVac.

Source: Infobae

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