Challenges of the coronavirus pandemic for Brazilian intensivists: present and future - Critical Care Science (CCS)
Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2021;33(3):339-340
The first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) in Brazil was reported in February 2020. Despite the extensive reach of the Brazilian public health system and its impressive capillarity capacity throughout the entire country, not a single county or community was spared from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The mitigation phase of the pandemic was initially effective in flattening the curves of cases and hospitalizations in many regions, with a few exceptions. However, during the second wave, the number of cases surpassed more than 14 million, and Brazil has now recorded nearly half a million deaths. To prepare for future disasters, we need to understand what has happened in our country and how can we do better.
The lack of agreement and coordination within federal, state and municipal governments led to a leadership crisis while the virus was spreading at its highest rate. In the span of one year, we have had four ministers of health. The crisis was characterized by miscommunication to the public, the lack of an effective testing policy, insufficient lockdowns in places with an imminent health system collapse, communities manifesting disbelief in the severity of the disease and the pursuit of drugs with unproven efficacy. The economy and health were dichotomized as if they were mutually exclusive. Social distancing was not an option for informal workers, and low-income families who received emergency cash assistance did not have their needs met. An unhelpful social media battle over the virus and all aspects of the response has raged throughout the duration of the pandemic; moreover, despite the extensive capacity of our national immunization program, priority was not given to a vaccine acquisition strategy.
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The first cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) in Brazil was reported in February 2020. Despite the extensive reach of the Brazilian public health system and its impressive capillarity capacity throughout the entire country, not a single county or community was spared from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The mitigation phase of the pandemic was initially effective in flattening the curves of cases and hospitalizations in many regions, with a few exceptions. However, during the second wave, the number of cases surpassed more than 14 million, and Brazil has now recorded nearly half a million deaths. To prepare for future disasters, we need to understand what has happened in our country and how can we do better.
The lack of agreement and coordination within federal, state and municipal governments led to a leadership crisis while the virus was spreading at its highest rate. In the span of one year, we have had four ministers of health. The crisis was characterized by miscommunication to the public, the lack of an effective testing policy, insufficient lockdowns in places with an imminent health system collapse, communities manifesting disbelief in the severity of the disease and the pursuit of drugs with unproven efficacy. The economy and health were dichotomized as if they were mutually exclusive. Social distancing was not an option for informal workers, and low-income families who received emergency cash assistance did not have their needs met. An unhelpful social media battle over the virus and all aspects of the response has raged throughout the duration of the pandemic; moreover, despite the extensive capacity of our national immunization program, priority was not given to a vaccine acquisition strategy.
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