This country got out of a bad covid dream: Thanks to one thing, it quickly reversed the catastrophic development – Topky

During the devastating second wave in the spring of this year, the most populous Latin American state was the global outbreak, and in April, the number of deaths in 24 hours reached 4,200. However, the average daily increase in deaths over a seven-day period has since fallen to around 200, which is less per 100,000 inhabitants than in the US, the UK or the European Union. “Brazil is gradually waking up from this nightmare, and our high level of vaccination is the main reason for that.” said scientist and former health minister José Gomes Temporão.

Critics of the current Brazilian government say the improvement came despite President Jair Bolsonar, who previously called the disease a “flu” and faces accusations that he has failed to cope with the health crisis. The far-right politician opposed the closures and wanted to keep economic activities open, spoke mockingly about wearing veils, and spread doubts about covid-19 vaccines. Critics believe that the strong health sector is behind the improvement, as well as initiatives to promote vaccination by civil society and the corporate sector. The Brazilian president’s office declined to comment.

After a slow start and problems with vaccine supplies, 64 percent of Brazil’s 213 million people are now vaccinated, well above the world average of 44 percent. Among the ten largest countries, Brazil is in second place and the number of administered doses is the fourth highest in the world, according to the Our World in Data server.

The coronavirus has caused thousands of deaths

Improvements in vaccination have created hope for an end to the calamity, which has killed 615,000 deaths in the country, the second highest number in the world after the United States. “Brazil was one of the worst cases during the pandemic and was a prime example of what not to do about covid-19,” Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health care at Georgetown University in Washington, said. “The vaccination thus appears as a cavalry unit that came to save the battle,” Gostin added. The changes were also noticed by Nurse Thatyana Borges Machad, who works in the Amazon city of Manaus, where patients died of suffocation this year due to a lack of compressed oxygen. “Chaos is no more here today,” she stated that medical examinations had returned to normal.

Source: TASR / AP / Eraldo Peres

Widespread confidence in vaccination has played a major role. According to a World Bank and UN survey, only three out of 100 Brazilians will not be vaccinated, the lowest figure in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the average is eight percent. This is in stark contrast to the behavior of Bolsonar, who swears he did not get vaccinated, and joked last year that people vaccinated with Pfizer and BioNTech would turn into alligators. Facebook and Youtube recently removed a video in which the former captain claimed that the vaccination was helping to develop AIDS.

“Fortunately, Brazil has a strong history of vaccination campaigns and confidence in science and vaccines.” said Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes. “It started in the 1970s during a military dictatorship, and a certain culture has developed since then. “ he added. This has created a deep confidence among Brazilians in the public health system, which produces and administers tens of millions of vaccines each year against diseases such as influenza, yellow fever and meningitis.

Source: SITA / AP Photo / Steven Senne, File

Great vaccination

State pharmaceutical companies have also sought to ensure the availability of covid-19 vaccines. The first doses of the vaccine were supplied by the Brazilian company Butantan, based in Sao Paulo, thanks to an agreement with the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac. Although local clinical trials have shown relatively low vaccine efficacy, about 50 percent, vaccineers say the vaccine was vital at the time. Later, vaccination using products developed by Pfizer and AstraZeneca became prevalent.

In total, the government has ordered 600 million doses of the vaccine from several manufacturers. However, former vaccine coordinator Carla Domingues criticizes the government’s actions as “inadequate”. He claims that the government “delayed the purchase of vaccines and did not coordinate the vaccination campaign.” “If (batches) arrived earlier, there would be far fewer dead,” stated.

Source: SITA / AP Photo / Alexandr Kulikov

Brazil also benefits from strengthening its domestic production capacity, which will reduce its need to import batches of vaccines or parts of it. Fiocruz received technology from AstraZeneca to produce the active ingredient for vaccines. At a time when there is often talk of inequality in the distribution of vaccines between richer and poorer countries, Brazil can help address the international shortage of vaccines. One of the local pharmaceutical companies will start producing vaccines for Latin America developed by Pfizer and BioNTech next year. Although butantan no longer has a valid contract for the production of CoronaVac, it intends to start producing the active substance and is evaluating the possibility of selling it abroad. Brazilian researchers are also developing their own vaccine for the domestic and foreign markets.

Brazil’s immunity will be checked by a new variant of omicron, as well as various meetings during the Christmas holidays. Many cities, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, have canceled official New Year’s Eve celebrations. The combination of vaccination and immunity acquired after a severe wave of the disease represents a “comparative advantage” for Brazil, said Professor Gostin. “But it’s too early to talk about victory.” he added.