Brazil has the highest index in the southern hemisphere …

The second wave of the coronavirus pandemic placed Brazil is the country with the highest death rate from covid-19 in the Americas and also in the southern hemisphere. The total number of people infected is close to 14 million and specialists suggest that the onset of southern winter could lead to another wave. As the vaccination campaign progresses at a slow pace, 13 percent of the population have been vaccinated with the first dose and only 5 percent receiving the second dose.

Currently, the South American giant has 176 dead per 100,000 population. With that figure, it exceeds 172 deaths per 100,000 people in the United States. In South America, Brazil leads, followed by its neighbor Peru, which has a death rate of 174 per 100,000 inhabitants.

For the demographer, José Eustaquio Alves, researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), In one month, Brazil’s death rate could exceed that of the UK (187 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) and that of Italy (194 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants).

According to Alves, Brazil would only be overtaken by Belgium and some European countries. For example, in the Czech Republic, the death rate from covid-19 is 267 deaths per 100,000 population, followed by Hungary with 265 deaths per 100,000 population. “These are countries with a cold climate and an elderly demographic structure, more vulnerable to disease”Said Alves. While in Brazil, the population over 65 represents less than 10 percent of the total.

“Brazil broke all its death records (from coronavirus) in March and April and jumped in the world rankings”, Alves told AFP. “He has the highest death rate in the Americas and in the entire southern hemisphere”added. He also explained that with the onset of the southern winter and the relaxation of social isolation measures for governors and mayors, the country could experience a new wave of infections.

In São Paulo, life expectancy fell for the first time in 80 years due to deaths from covid-19. The official study by the Sedae Foundation confirmed the trend towards demographic reversion. Of the total of nearly 375,000 Brazilians who have died from covid-19, more than 88,000 are from the state of São Paulo.

As the vaccination campaign slows down, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), control body in charge of sanitary control of products and services in Brazil, approved the emergency use of an antibody cocktail which are injected into patients with non-severe covid-19 over 12 years of age.

Treatment approved by Anvisa does not replace vaccines and is not authorized for hospitalized patients with coronavirus and require oxygen or mechanical ventilation. It is the second remedy for hospitalized patients with coronavirus. In March, approval was announced for remdesivir, a remedy that prevents viral replication and is manufactured by the multinational Gilead Sciences, initially developed to treat hepatitis C and then tested against Ebola.

In 2020, the cocktail became relevant because it was the one used by the White House to treat then-US President Donald Trump when he was infected with covid-19. “According to clinical study data, antibodies have not shown benefit in hospitalized patients, and may even be associated with worse clinical outcomes when used.” Anvisa pointed out.

The announcement came after the Brazilian Senate opened a Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (ICC) to determine the omissions of President Jair Bolsonaro and his Ministry of Health in the context of the health emergency due to the pandemic. ICC to investigate Bolsonaro’s advertisement for chloroquine and anti-dermal remedies such as ivermictine despite lack of scientific support for themselves. It will also look at launching a digital platform for the “early treatment” of the disease, which has also not been approved by scientists.

Brazil is going through a critical phase of the pandemic. The country has a collapsed public health system with shortages of drugs and oxygen tanks for critically ill covid-19 patients. From Europe, countries like France and Spain are maintaining the suspension of flights from Brazil, where the local variant of the virus, called P1, which originates in the city of Manaus circulates. Considered to be much more contagious, the P1 variant could generate more infections than other strains and require more antibodies to resist the virus. In addition, the P1 variant has given rise to new mutations such as the P2 circulating in Rio de Janiero. The P4 variant was also recently detected in the state of Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais.