Friday in Brazil began as a day of hope, after the São Paulo-based Butantan Institute announced it would request authorization to hold human trials on a potential coronavirus vaccine that will be 100-percent Brazilian. However, it will end with grim figures that bring the tired nation back to reality: 3,650 new daily deaths. The number obliterates previous highs and pushes Brazil’s seven-day average of new deaths to 2,400 — another record.
Seven-day averages are a much better metric to monitor the evolution of the pandemic, as it reduces the oscillations of daily tallies — which tend to go down during weekends and holidays as administrative officials in health departments are reduced.