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Covid vaccines included in Brazil’s regular immunization calendar

Cedê Silva
Nov 01, 2023 7:11 (Updated: Nov 02, 2023 10:14)

The Health Ministry announced on Tuesday the inclusion of Covid vaccines in the national vaccination calendar in 2024. Next week, the ministry will also launch an awareness campaign on network television and social media about testing, treating, and vaccinating against Covid.

Covid vaccines were massively popular among Brazil’s adult population, with the country quickly surpassing the U.S. population in percentage of vaccinated adults once the shots became available. As per the latest data, over 167 million Brazilians — about 82 percent of the overall population — have had at least two jabs. Since the pandemic started, Brazil has administered more than 518 million doses.

The administration of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was slow to purchase enough vaccines for the Brazilian population. The former president never got publicly vaccinated, and is currently investigated for using fake vaccination records.

Following a massive disinformation campaign by the Bolsonaro administration, Covid vaccines were not so popular with parents of young children. Only about half of children aged 5 to 11 have received two doses of the Covid vaccine.

Children aged 6 months to 5 years old will be among the priority groups for next year’s vaccination campaign. Under Brazilian legislation, the vaccination of children is mandatory.

Additionally, the ritonavir medication is available under Brazil’s public health system for Covid patients over 65 or immunosuppressed adults.

A bulletin published on Monday by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a federal health research institute, showed a recent uptick in Covid cases in some Brazilian states. Mortality rates dropped dramatically after vaccination was introduced.

Covid hospitalizations tick up in São Paulo

Cedê Silva
Oct 06, 2023 16:16 (Updated: Oct 06, 2023 16:22)

Covid hospitalizations are on the rise again in São Paulo, Brazil’s most populous state.

Data collected by the Info Tracker platform, created by São Paulo researchers from public universities, shows there were 896 people hospitalized with Covid or suspected Covid on October 3 — 11 percent more than seven days earlier, and almost 35 percent more than the 665 people hospitalized the Tuesday before that.

An online data panel organized by the state government shows a rolling average of 24.7 percent occupancy in the state’s ICU beds. The rate of occupancy is also affected by the total number of beds, which increased during the pandemic’s peaks.

A bulletin published by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, a federal public health institute, showed last week that the rise in cases in São Paulo is seen most among those aged 50 or more. Researcher Marcelo Gomes said in a video that most of Brazil is in a “relatively comfortable situation,” with most states maintaining stability in cases of respiratory diseases.

A data panel maintained by the National Council of Health Secretariats (Conass) has counted an accumulated 705,962 deaths by Covid in Brazil since the start of the pandemic. About 12,000 of them — around 1.7 percent — happened this year, with mortality rates dropping dramatically after vaccination was introduced.

Supreme Court reopens investigation into Bolsonaro’s pandemic crimes

TBR Newsroom
Jul 11, 2023 7:02 (Updated: Jul 11, 2023 8:02)

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes ruled to overturn a federal court decision that closed part of an investigation into alleged pandemic crimes committed by members of the former Jair Bolsonaro administration.

Justice Mendes sent the case, which remains sealed, to the Federal Prosecution Office, which will have to analyze whether Mr. Bolsonaro, former Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello (now a congressman), three other former government officials, and the head of the Federal Medicine Council committed a litany of crimes such as helping to spread an epidemic, irregular use of public funds, and malfeasance.

The investigation was prompted by the Senate’s 2021 Covid hearings, which examined the government’s response to the pandemic. In its final report, the committee called for Mr. Bolsonaro to be charged with nine crimes, including crimes against humanity. 

While the government dismissed the investigation as a political hit job on the then-president, the senators collected reams of documents detailing Mr. Bolsonaro’s denialist pandemic playbook.

He stalled the purchase of vaccines from Pfizer, shunned Sinovac shots from China, and procured only half of the vaccines available to Brazil through the UN-backed COVAX facility. His administration knew from the earliest days of the pandemic that lockdowns were the safest response to the rapid rise in Covid cases — even economically — yet the administration rejected social distancing measures at every opportunity. 

Mr. Bolsonaro also pushed for the use of chloroquine on infected patients or as a prophylactic — despite its ineffectiveness in treating the virus.

Brazil has recorded a total of more than 700,000 Covid deaths. Researchers believe that more than 100,000 lives could have been saved if Brazil had followed the scientific consensus during the pandemic.

But between the release of the inquiry’s final report and the end of last year, when Mr. Bolsonaro’s term expired, Prosecutor General Augusto Aras showed little interest in pursuing the senators’ accusations. With his own term coming to an end in September, this could be Mr. Aras’s opportunity to audition for another two years as head prosecutor.

In March of this year, Mr. Aras changed his position on changes to the law governing state-run companies to facilitate political nominations, siding with the new government. 

On Monday, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Senate whip praised Mr. Aras for “providing an important service for the country” in “reducing the excesses” of prosecutors in previous years, in a reference to the anti-corruption task force Operation Car Wash.

Brazil reaches milestone of 700,000 Covid deaths

TBR Newsroom
Mar 28, 2023 17:40

Brazil has this week surpassed 700,000 Covid deaths, a milestone that comes just over three years after health officials first confirmed the country’s first Covid death on March 12, 2020. Brazil’s pandemic death toll is second only to that of the U.S., with 1.11 million. 

Earlier this month, the Health Ministry decided to stop releasing daily data on new Covid cases and deaths, as only one-third of states continued to report new numbers each day — a testament to how Covid is no longer a front-of-mind issue as it was before vaccines were made widely available (but also to how poorly authorities keep track of data.

Today, 85 percent of Brazilians have had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine. However, only half of the population has completed the first vaccination cycle and received a booster shot. Vaccine coverage remains subpar among children under the age of 5. 

Data analyzed by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation’s InfoGripe report, which studies respiratory epidemics in Brazil, shows that Covid mortality rates are three times higher among unvaccinated Brazilians. Currently, most coronavirus deaths occur among citizens over the age of 80 and immunosuppressed patients. 

Brazilians’ willingness to vaccinate in 2021 and 2022 explains why the pace of the pandemic has slowed down so much in Brazil. It took Brazil just 34 days to go from 300,000 to 400,000 deaths in April 2021. Since then, each new milestone has come more slowly. The last 100,000 deaths occurred over the course of 536 days.

This success came despite former President Jair Bolsonaro’s anti-vax rhetoric. Mr. Bolsonaro has repeatedly spread disinformation around Covid vaccines. He said they were “experimental,” even after they were approved by health agencies such as Anvisa, Brazil’s federal healthcare regulator. The far-right leader also made false claims that vaccines were linked to the development of AIDS.

The Supreme Court, however, recently ruled that the former president will not face criminal charges for his alleged misconduct in the handling of the pandemic.

Lula government to lift secrecy on Bolsonaro vaccination information

TBR Newsroom
Mar 14, 2023 8:10

Brazil’s Federal Comptroller General’s Office on Monday ruled to release Jair Bolsonaro’s Covid vaccination status — which had been kept confidential by the previous administration.

In January 2021, the government slapped a 100-year secrecy seal on the then-president’s immunization records, claiming the information contained sensitive private data belonging to Mr. Bolsonaro. The comptroller’s office says the information is of public interest due to its “influence on the Brazilian state’s immunization policies.”

Almost a month ago, Comptroller General Vinícius de Carvalho told CNN Brasil that his office has records indicating that former President Jair Bolsonaro received a dose of the Janssen coronavirus vaccine on July 19, 2021. 

However, the Federal Comptroller General’s Office is investigating whether the record is authentic or if it has been tampered with. Mr. Carvalho informed the cable news station that an investigation into the authenticity of the vaccination record was opened on December 30.

Mr. Bolsonaro has repeatedly spread misinformation around Covid vaccines. He said they were “experimental,” even after they were approved by health agencies such as Anvisa, Brazil’s federal healthcare regulator. The far-right leader has also made false claims that vaccines were linked to the development of AIDS. 

For the latter comment, he and one aide were put under investigation by the Federal Police and found to have committed a crime by inciting people not to vaccinate or wear masks based on false information.

Sealing his vaccination records was just one of many moves by Mr. Bolsonaro to reduce public transparency and accountability. Under his leadership, the government’s acceptance rate of requests for information via the Access to Information Act hit at an all-time low of 58 percent in 2020 and rose only slightly to 68 percent in 2021.

Supreme Court will not investigate Bolsonaro for Covid misconduct

Cedê Silva
Mar 13, 2023 12:12

The Supreme Court on Friday denied a petition by a private association of families of Covid victims to investigate former President Jair Bolsonaro for criminal misconduct in the handling of the pandemic.

The petition was filed in April 2022, when Mr. Bolsonaro was still president. The association criticized what it perceived as inertia on the part of the Federal Prosecution Office in investigating alleged crimes committed by the former president, such as charlatanism, causing danger to life and health, violation of sanitary preventive measures, and nonfeasance.

Among several other behaviors, Mr. Bolsonaro organized rallies with large crowds and attended them without wearing a mask. He also promoted hydroxychloroquine as a Covid medication (even after its efficacy had been disproved), sowed doubts about the efficacy of vaccines, demonstrably postponed the purchase of sufficient quantities of vaccines for the Brazilian population, and falsely alleged that vaccines were linked to the development of HIV/AIDS.

Justice Luís Roberto Barroso accepted the argument of the Federal Prosecution Office that it did open preliminary investigations against Mr. Bolsonaro and other officials. Although that is true, Deputy Prosecutor General Lindôra Araújo has since requested that several investigations into the previous government’s mishandling of the pandemic be shelved indefinitely.

Justice Barroso’s decision prevailed by a 9-2 vote. The two dissenting judges, Justices Edson Fachin and Cármen Lúcia, voted to send the petition to a lower court in Brasília, as Mr. Bolsonaro no longer enjoys the legal prerogatives that come with the presidency. 

Jair Bolsonaro left Brazil on December 30 and has been living in Florida since then.

Brazilian health regulator scraps mask requirements on flights

Euan Marshall
Mar 01, 2023 16:04

Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa formed a majority to do away with mask use requirements in the country’s airports and on flights. The change will come into effect once it has been published in the Official Gazette.

Airport and airplane mask requirements had already been scrapped in August 2022, but were reintroduced in November amid an increase in new Covid cases.

Now, Anvisa “recommends” that people wear masks in airports and on flights — especially anyone with flu symptoms or vulnerable people — but their use is no longer mandatory.

During Wednesday’s board meeting, Anvisa chair Antonio Barra Torres likened face masks to seatbelts, despite voting in favor of removing use requirements. He noted that seatbelts are “practically uncontested around the world,” but noted that face masks go one step further, offering protection to the user and those around them. 

The World Health Organization continues to recommend the use of masks for anyone in a “busy, closed, or poorly ventilated space.”

Records suggest Bolsonaro took Covid vaccine, despite anti-vax antics

TBR Newsroom
Feb 17, 2023 20:12 (Updated: Feb 22, 2023 8:59)

Vinícius de Carvalho, Brazil’s comptroller general, has told CNN Brasil that his office has records indicating that former President Jair Bolsonaro received a dose of the Janssen coronavirus vaccine on July 19, 2021 — despite spending years downplaying the risk posed by Covid, spreading vaccine disinformation, and claiming he is unvaccinated himself.

However, the Federal Comptroller General’s Office is investigating whether the record is authentic or if it has been tampered with. Mr. Carvalho informed the cable news station that an investigation into the authenticity of the vaccination record was opened on December 30.

A report published on Thursday revealed that Mr. Carvalho’s office formally requested vaccination records from the Health Ministry pertaining to the former far-right president.

Mr. Bolsonaro has repeatedly spread misinformation around Covid vaccines. He said they were “experimental,” even after they were approved by health agencies such as Anvisa, Brazil’s federal healthcare regulator. The far-right leader has also made false claims that vaccines were linked to the development of AIDS. For the latter comment, he and one aide were put under investigation by the Federal Police and found to have committed a crime by inciting people not to vaccinate or wear masks based on false information.

In addition to overseeing a slow Covid vaccine rollout, the Bolsonaro administration witnessed declining vaccination rates for several diseases in recent years.