The importance of science and public policy in Brazil’s Covid-19 fight

Overcoming Covid-19 in Brazil is as much a matter of public policy as it is a medical and scientific endeavor. The same could be said for any country and almost all diseases, even those that have yet to be discovered. It is understandable that we, as a society, forget how much public policy and science affect our daily lives. Both can be confusing, take years to implement, and are often conducted behind closed doors. Appreciating how much the two are interdependent is equally elusive.

But the Covid-19 pandemic is shedding new light on this important relationship.

Our health and our lives are dependent on scientific advances. Without science, we would never have discovered vaccines, treatments, or understood the healthy behaviors that prevent sickness and cure disease. Without the best-trained scientists or the investment in the education, infrastructure, and global exchange of scientific discoveries, Brazil would not have access to the latest medical advances, data, or the knowledge to translate such advances to the patient’s bedside. Hospitals would be useless without well-trained doctors and nurses. And these in turn would be useless without medicines, medical equipment, and practices. Policy decisions directly impact the resources for all the above.  

The safety of the water we drink, the food we eat, the air we breathe, and education about the healthy lifestyle we should all live are dependent on good science. But, the evidence behind this knowledge would be useless unless policymakers — read, elected and appointed officials — put it into...