Process of vaccination in Brazil (Opinion)

Written by: Kevin Quimatzoyaro

From: Brasília, Brazil

Edited by: Luana Mayer

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As the country of Brazil begins the process of immunization for COVID-19, there has been several uplifting news. With the vaccination, expected by researchers and epidemiologists, there has been a considerable decrease in deaths and infectivity, with about 45% of the population having at least the first dose of the vaccine. The amount of totally immunized individuals is about 35 million, whereas, the number of vaccinated is 128 million. Concerning the entire population, only about 17% is completely immunized. Although these numbers could have been more promising, these are positive results considering the governmental delay in the vaccination campaign. 

Notwithstanding the high number of daily deaths of around 1200, such number has greatly decreased considering the initial 3000+ before the vaccination process. Another factor that also has positively influenced the decrease in daily cases and deaths is that of people stopping to believe  in the “tratamento precoce,” which consisted of unscientific treatment methods that mainly relied on consuming a vermifuge, hydroxychloroquine, to attempt to treat the virus. The total number of people that died in Brazil is of 545 thousand, and this number may increase if the total immunization does not increase from 17% to at least 80% considering that we are dealing with the alpha variant rather than the delta in which, so far, the effects of the vaccine have shown to bare a less effectiveness in prevention. 

Finally, Even though there have been several positive indicators in relation to both immunization and death rates, there is still alarming news in relation to the pandemic in Brazil. The delta variant is becoming increasingly prominent in the country, making COVID-19’s contamination pace  alarming. Its higher infectivity rates that far surpass the alpha variant are more dangerous to people as the delta variant decreases the immune system response to the virus, thus possibly decreasing the preventive effectiveness of vaccines and also possibly worsening symptoms if considering other variants. The troubling results seen in India due to the delta variant could become a reality in Brazil, but most likely will not due to the “free” healthcare system within the country and other preventive measures that have been in place in order to mitigate the results of the pandemic. Due to the aforementioned system, although highly ineffective, it was able to mitigate the virus by providing basic care to most individuals while also providing a structure to mitigate both the damage the virus caused to private institutions ,referring to the capacity of hospitals, and also aiding in the process of vaccination when the campaign started with full force. In synthesis, Brazil's current predicament is much better than it was a few months ago with staggering numbers of daily mortality and higher infectivity rates.