Global Health Blogs with Professor Swahn

The Impact of covid in Brazil

          Covid-19 has left its impact on the world with some countries reporting higher prevalence and incidence rates than others. Brazil is inconsistently dealing with this pandemic, reporting alarming numbers of confirmed cases. With the global cases reaching 129,456,315; Brazil currently has confirmed cases of 12,748,747 with 321,515 deaths. The social inequalities that this country faces are contributing to the high rates of this pandemic. Brazil has 26 states and is the seventh most populated country and the fifth with the greatest territorial extension worldwide (Neiva et al). This makes it extremely difficult to have consistency when establishing plans to put interventions in place to protect the population from this pandemic. Poor living conditions, poor infrastructure, and a health system that is currently facing challenges are only contributing to the increase in numbers. Social and economic disparities among regions are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another factor that contributes to the rise in numbers is the composition of the Brazilian population.  Brazil has many risk groups with a large population older than 60 with comorbidities and over 500,00 indigenous citizens who have limited access to hospitals. With the lack of financial support, there is an increased chance of precarious conditions with no access to healthcare.  Efforts are being made to provide vaccinations to the population. Currently, 19,155,981 doses have been administered with 4,234,605 people being fully vaccinated, of which 2.02% of the population is fully vaccinated. With the country facing political distress the citizens are greatly impacted. Without the proper leadership, there is a lack of government support and trust of the citizens of Brazil. During this pandemic, there was a poor initial response from the government in the response to putting in place action plans to protect its citizens. The health ministry and the media failed the public in providing proper data and information about the pandemic. As a result, the population had a low adhesion to quarantine and adherence to recommendations.  The projection is that Brazil will have the highest number of cases worldwide if there are no interventions and policies put in place to reduce the numbers. Through organizations like COVAX which is the focus on promoting equity through the administration of vaccines to protect the health of populations, there can be a decrease in the rates of new cases and deaths. The first step in increasing the percentage of vaccinations will be to develop a social marketing plan with the focus on addressing the needs of populations across the region and educating and building confidence along with building trust across all sectors of the population. Another approach that needs to be considered is modeling countries that are having greater outcomes in regard to a reduction in incidence and mortality rates. A partnership of countries in the midst of this pandemic is critical for the survival of this country. There also needs to be a restructuring of the government and strong leadership in place to assure that the people of Brazil will have the opportunities that other countries are awarded and measurements in place to make sure that treatment and vaccinations are equitable for all people. With the financial support of the WHO and organizations, leadership, medical support, and the right strategies, we can stop the bleeding of a country that is failing its people. When we look at combating this pandemic we need to look beyond the borders of countries and aid those who are suffering; there need to be a global effort in place.

Reference:

Marson, F. A. L., & Ortega, M. M. (2020). COVID-19 in Brazil. Pulmonology, 26(4), 241-244.

Neiva, M. B., Carvalho, I., Costa Filho, E., Barbosa-Junior, F., Bernardi, F. A., Sanches, T., Oliveira, L. L., Lima, V. C., Miyoshi, N., & Alves, D. (2020). Brazil: the emerging epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic. Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical, 53, e20200550. https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0550-2020