VACCINE NOW

A year ago, the first case of the new coronavirus was confirmed in Brazil, in a man who had traveled to Italy and hospitalized in S?o Paulo. He was cured a few days later, but the virus continued to arrive in the country and soon spread, initially among the upper classes and, later, among the poorest, causing deaths, remaining in the second largest mark in the world.

Pandemics stimulate the ability of scientists to seek quick solutions in the development of new treatments, test the cohesion of societies and the leadership of politicians. And thanks to the efforts of scientists, in the world, there are already several effective vaccines approved, but with still insufficient production, for the return to normality in a global way. In the current scenario, Brazil is going through a dark moment of the covid-19. The number of deaths daily remains at a very high level, above the previous peak of the disease, in July 2020. These are consecutive days with marks above a thousand deaths daily. The latest news is that bed occupancy rates in the public health system are breaking the capacity record. It is not easy to assist thousands of families who lose loved ones.

Meanwhile, vaccination goes on a drip. The pace is due to the structural scarcity of the immunizer worldwide, but also to decisions by the federal government that did not guarantee in advance enough quantity for the population and that the list of vaccine suppliers did not diversify, and there was no lack of offers.

The outlook for overcoming the pandemic, experts say, is not positive. On the contrary: it is expected that 2021 will be even more difficult. The numbers of cases and deaths are at the highest level, and the scientific recommendations do not seem to have been adopted adequately by the population.

The spread of the coronavirus to Brazil coincided with the term of a far-right president, who denied the seriousness of the disease and the importance of scientific knowledge to deal with the pandemic. His leadership was the opposite of the recommendations of experts: he has openly refused to use the mask, encouraging crowds and not only sowing doubts about the vaccines, but also made harsh criticisms.

After the government sacked two health ministers who refused to support the use of drugs that were not effective against the disease, coordination in the health area was weakened.

The federal government, however, was not alone in its approach to the disease. His position was followed by mayors and governors, in addition to a significant portion of the population that acted as if there were no pandemic, filled the beaches, bars and clandestine parties.

The president went so far as to say that he would not buy "the vaccine", but then he went back and closed a purchase agreement so as not to fall behind his political opponents.

In the words of the French historian Laurent-Henri Vignaud, author of the book Antivax - Resistance to vaccines from the 18th century to today, “President Jair Bolsonaro is the only political leader in history to discourage vaccination.” What a sadness for our history.

The only solution is called a vaccine, vaccine, vaccine. May we move forward and may God protect us!

Simone Fonseca de Freitas