Brazil’s COVID tragedy puts region at risk and alerts the world

Brazil is experiencing its most critical moment due to the increase in cases, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19. Experts agree that the situation is much worse due to the mismanagement of the health emergency by the government of Jair Bolsonaro. On Wednesday, the largest country in Latin America exceeded 2,000 daily deaths from the coronavirus for the first time, with 2,286 deaths recorded in 24 hours, a figure that is raising alarm in the region and the world.

With the new death toll, the country exceeds 270,000 deaths since the start of the health crisis, while infections already exceed 11.2 million, with 79,876 newly infected reported as of Wednesday.

“If Brazil is not serious, it will continue to affect beyond its borders“Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), warned last week.”It’s not just about Brazil. This is all of Latin America and beyond“.

“If Brazil is not serious, it will continue to affect beyond its borders”

The situation in the South American giant has worsened with the appearance of the new variant of the coronavirus registered in the Amazon, which can be at least twice as contagious. Some preliminary studies warn that the new strain, called P1, may be able to infect people who have previously suffered and recovered from other versions of the coronavirus.

“The worsening epidemic in several states is leading to the collapse of their public and private health networks and the imminent risk that it will spread to all regions of Brazil,” said the National Council of Secretaries of the health in a press release. “Unfortunately, the low vaccination coverage and the low availability of vaccines still do not allow this scenario to be reversed in the short term ”.

Close to health collapse

Of the country’s 27 capitals, 25 have intensive care unit (ICU) occupancy rates of 80% or more, according to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).

According to the latest COVID-19 Observatory report, published the day before, In 15 capitals, which are the ones with the highest concentration of severe cases of the disease, the occupancy rate of intensive care units exceeds 90% and in states like Sao Paulo and Sergipe, the situation has worsened..

“We are at the worst time in Brazil, the transmission rate with the variants makes the epidemic even more serious”

Faced with the situation described as “extremely critical”, Fiocruz researchers reiterated the need to “expand and strengthen” social distancing measures and that they be stricter in cities and regions where the situation is severe. on the verge of collapse.

“We are at the worst time of the pandemic in Brazil, the rate of transmission with the variants makes the epidemic even more serious», He told the AFP pulmonologist Margareth Dalcolmo, of the Fiocruz Foundation.

“The year 2021 will be even more difficult,” he added.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state, with some 46 million people, 30 people with covid have died so far this month for lack of space in an intensive care unit as they are at 82% of their capacity.

Our world in data graph (cases per million inhabitants) shows Brazil is in its worst time of recording daily COVID-19 cases, one year after the start of the pandemic

Negative recording days

This Tuesday, Sao Paulo recorded a record 517 covid deaths in 24 hours, the highest level since the confirmation of the first case on February 26, 2020.

Currently, mobility is restricted throughout the region where all stores remain closed, except those of essentials.

A similar situation is experienced in Pernambuco, where 84% of ICUs are overcrowded but where measures have failed to reduce mobility, since the stores only close completely on weekends and at night the rest of the days.

In Recife, its capital, the mobilization on Wednesday was practically normal in the city. The main tourist centers and popular shops recorded an agglomeration of 70%, according to what has been verified Efe.

21 of the 27 governors invited to create a pandemic management committee, which does not exist today

The situation led the governors of 21 of Brazil’s 27 states to demand a “national pact” on Wednesday. between the three powers to “strengthen” the fight against the pandemic.

“Today, the coronavirus is our country’s greatest adversary. We must avoid the total collapse of hospital systems all over Brazil and improve the fight against the pandemic, ”the regional leaders stressed in a joint letter.

Likewise, They proposed the creation of a “management committee” in which the executive, legislative and judicial powers would participate., as well as governors and mayors, and would be advised by a group of health “specialists”.

Vaccines and deaths

Delays in vaccinating the population due to lack of doses at a time when infections are growing rapidly across the country have led regional governments to enact more stringent measures to stop the spread of the virus, but the measures fail. have not been applied. one year ago.

Since the start of the campaign almost two months ago, 8.9 million people have been vaccinated (4.23% of the population), of which 3.1 million with the second dose.

“We can eventually reach a level of 3,000 deaths per day”

In this scenario, “we can eventually reach a level of 3,000 deaths per day,” epidemiologist Jonas Brant of the University of Brasilia (UNB) told AFP.

In relative terms, Brazil has an average of 128 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, a figure lower than that of the United Kingdom (184/100 000), Belgium (193/100 000) or the United States (160/100 000).

But several states record figures that give the scale of the tragedy: in Rio de Janeiro, with 33,389 deaths, the average is 196 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. And in Amazon, where this year dozens of people died from lack of oxygen in hospitals, the average is 275 deaths / 100,000 inhabitants.

Global alarm

The advance of the pandemic has triggered international alerts.

WHO urged Brazil last week to take more aggressive actionFailure to do so could affect neighboring countries and others.

On Wednesday, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) stepped up the warnings.

“We are concerned about the situation in Brazil. It’s a stark reminder of the threat of a resurgence, as areas heavily affected by the virus remain highly vulnerable to infection.PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said during a virtual press conference.

Facing the wave of criticism for his handling of the health emergency, Bolsonaro said Wednesday that his government had acted “relentlessly from the first moment in the fight against the pandemic”.

The president cited the subsidies that have enabled some 68 million Brazilians to face the parate economic between April and December, but they were suspended in January.

What the experts say

The prestigious AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has ensured that negotiations with pharmaceutical companies for vaccines and other supplies have been delayed too long and the country is far from guaranteeing sufficient doses for the entire population. In addition, he noted that the inconsistent and contradictory messages from the Bolsonaro government have confused the community and made matters worse.

“Brazil has only managed to access 14.7 million doses of vaccine, to immunize less than 4% of its population. Thanks to the national research institutes Butantan and Fiocruz, which imported 8 million vaccines from China and India. And those who, despite the large pharmaceutical production capacity of the country, have only managed to manufacture 6.7 million locally, due to the multiple obstacles imposed on imports of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), ”he said. ‘organization.

“Due to decisions going against good public health practices (…) Brazil has lost access to vaccination for 78% of the population”

“Due to delays and decisions going against good public health practice, Brazil has lost access to what would have been around 316 million doses of the vaccine combined between the amounts offered by COVAX and Pfizer, enough to immunize around 78% of the population. from the country. This would have given the Butantan and Fiocruz institutes sufficient time to produce the rest of the vaccines to cover the entire population, ”he added.

The AHF calls on the international community to come together to demand that Brazil’s leaders do everything in their power to ensure that the country has enough vaccines for the entire population.

Denise Garrett, vice president of applied epidemiology at the Sabin Vaccine Institute in Washington, said she was very concerned about the situation in Brazil. “The country which does not control its epidemic is a risk for the other countries, because it is a fertile ground for new variants”.

With information from EFE, AFP and AP

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