Brazil’s “failed” response to Covid-19 has driven the country into a “humanitarian disaster,” MSF said Thursday, accusing President Jair Bolsonaro’s government of exacerbating the health crisis.
“ The lack of political will to respond adequately to the pandemic has killed thousands of Brazilians, ” the humanitarian group said in a statement.
The statement underscored the deadly wave of Covid-19 that has made Brazil the current epicenter of the pandemic.
Brazil’s ‘failed’ response to Covid-19 has propelled the country to a ‘humanitarian catastrophe,’ MSF said Thursday (photo, cemetery workers between the coffin of a Covid-19 victim)
The humanitarian organization has blamed President Bolsonaro for failing to respond adequately to the virus, which he has described as a ‘minor flu’.
In total, the disease has claimed more than 385,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States
Last week, the country with 212 million people was responsible for 11 percent of infections and 26.2 percent of deaths from Covid-19 worldwide, according to Doctors Without Borders.
Last week, the country with 212 million people was responsible for 11 percent of infections and 26.2 percent of deaths from Covid-19 worldwide, the group said.
In total, the disease has claimed more than 385,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States.
“These staggering numbers are clear evidence of the authorities’ failure to manage the country’s health and humanitarian crises and protect Brazilians, especially the most vulnerable,” he said.
Bolsonaro has long downplayed the pandemic and defied expert advice on measures to contain it, forcing the state and local authorities to implement a messy patchwork of response measures.
Last week, the country with 212 million people was responsible for 11 percent of infections and 26.2 percent of deaths from Covid-19 worldwide, the group said.
Bolsonaro has long downplayed the pandemic and defied expert advice on measures to contain it, forcing state and local authorities to implement a messy patchwork of response measures
Bolsonaro has long downplayed the pandemic and defied expert advice on measures to contain it, forcing state and local authorities to implement a messy patchwork of response measures
MSF said the lack of an “effective, centralized and coordinated” response exacerbated the crisis.
“Public health measures have become a political battleground in Brazil,” said Christos Christou, chairman of the group, sometimes referred to by the French acronym Doctors without Borders.
As a result, science-based policies are associated with political attitudes, rather than the need to protect individuals and their communities.
The statement came two days after the Brazilian senate set up a commission of inquiry into Bolsonaro’s handling of the pandemic.
MSF condemned Brazil’s lack of masks and social distancing, which were ‘shunned and politicized’ even when Bolsonaro and his allies offered drugs such as the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, despite studies showing their ineffectiveness against Covid-19.
“Fueling sickness and death in Brazil is an overwhelming amount of misinformation,” he said. It also condemned the country’s ‘half-speed’ vaccination campaign.
The organization, which has been active in Brazil since 1991, has deployed medical teams in eight of Brazil’s 27 states to respond to the pandemic.
The outbreak is pushing hospitals to a breaking point, with many patients dying before an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed becomes available.
The capacity of the ICU is currently approximately 80 percent in all 27 regions of Brazil.
In addition, more than 50 percent of intensive care beds are currently occupied by patients under the age of 40, according to a study published last weekend by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine.
The outbreak is pushing hospitals to a breaking point with many patients dying before a bed in the Intensive Care Unit becomes available (photo, a field hospital in Santo Andre)
Currently, more than 50 percent of intensive care beds are occupied by patients under the age of 40, according to a study published by the Brazilian Association of Intensive Medicine.
It is not clear why more young people are becoming seriously ill during the current wave of the virus in Brazil, but some scientists think the new P1 variant may be at least partly to blame (photo, newly dug graves in a cemetery in Brasilia , Brazil). )
The new statistic is a jump of 16.5 percent compared to the occupancy rate of that age group between December and February. The report is based on data from more than a third of all intensive care units in the country.
It is not clear why more young people are becoming seriously ill during the current wave of the virus in Brazil, but some scientists think the new P1 variant that has emerged in the Amazon city of Manaus may be at least partly to blame .
Other factors, such as the behavior of younger people who may be less concerned about going out and socializing, and the vaccination of the elderly, may also influence the data.
However, the vaccination program in Brazil has been painfully slow and only an estimated 3 percent of the population, about 6.3 million people, has received both injections.
According to the country’s Ministry of Health, an additional 21.1 million people have received one vaccine. But at least 1.5 million of them are behind schedule for their second shot and there is no explanation for the government’s delay.
Bolsonaro has been criticized for his approach to the coronavirus, which he describes as a ‘flu’.
He has repeatedly ignored calls from health experts to wear masks and has protested the use of lockdown measures.
An investigation into the government’s pandemic response was launched Tuesday after a Supreme Court judge ruled last week that enough senators had backed the investigation.
The congressional investigation, known by the Portuguese acronym CPI, could result in a number of actions, including referring possible misconduct to the police.
An investigation into the Bolsonaro’s pandemic response was launched Tuesday after a Supreme Court judge ruled last week that enough senators had backed the investigation.