Marcelo Queiroga, Brazil's new Health Minister. Photo: Still from TV
One day after President Jair Bolsonaro selected him as Brazil’s new Health Minister — making him the fourth such minister since the pandemic began — cardiologist Marcelo Queiroga preached continuity with the country’s healthcare policy.
“[Health] policies are those of the Bolsonaro administration, not the minister. The Health [Ministry] carries out the government’s agenda,” the future minister told reporters.
Those words are somewhat surprising, given that outgoing Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello is being pulled precisely for failing to tame the pandemic. Vaccination rollouts have stalled, state hospital networks are on the brink of collapse, and the country’s seven-day rolling average for new daily deaths continues to climb.
As we explained in today’s Daily Briefing, Mr. Bolsonaro’s political future depends on the new minister’s success. At least in his words, Mr. Queiroga doesn’t seem keen on a swift change of course
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