Publicado em 29/04/2022 - 07:56 / Clipado em 02/05/2022 - 07:56

The end of the pandemic – 29.04.2022 – I am Science

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The completion of the Public Health Emergency of National Importance decreed by the Ministry of Health (ESPIN) a week ago, exposes how Brazil proceeds without effective guidance towards combating Covid-19 and all the possibilities that exist in a pandemic context.

The fact is that despite the government’s position and the continued failure to comply with health protocols by its representatives, even with the necessary immunization process and the role of the Unified Health System (SUS), the virus still circulates among Brazilians and is neglected. this process can cost us all dearly.

The alarm that resonated among the scientific community was also given resolutely during a virtual debate promoted by Centro SoU Ciência last night (27), which included the participation of infectologist Luana Araújo, epidemiologist Ethel Maciel, also a professor at the Federal University of Espírito Santo. (UFES), and mediated by Soraya Smaili, coordinator of SoU Ciência.

In addition to facilitating measures to combat the virus, decisions being taken at the national level follow the absolute lack of criteria. A pandemic, by definition, is a globally prevalent disease with unprecedented impact on populations and systems.

It is not possible to talk about its end – much less to dismantle the mechanisms created to curb it – from local and specific contexts, completely ignoring the different realities faced by other countries and regions. And this is exactly the path followed by Brazil at the moment.

Both the evolution of the pandemic and the response to it are modified, dictating the pathways of virus spread and mutations. As infectious disease specialist Luana Araújo said during a live broadcast, available on Youtube from Sou Ciência, “there is no shock that ends a pandemic”.

Given the different response capacities between countries, it is natural that there will be different levels of threat, but ignoring that the pandemic is a multi-phase process is a brutal mistake. “The pandemic is not over, it has changed its level and with this our reaction must follow this kind of evolution,” said Araújo.

In addition to undermining the ability to respond to a possible worsening of the pandemic, the decision of the Ministry of Health compromises the operational processes of responding to the virus in states and municipalities, imposing a detrimental reorganization of the health care system.

Epidemiologist Ethel Maciel, reference in this area, reminded during the virtual debate that there are no epidemiological indicators for the completion of the decree, as we have a moving average of 100 deaths per day.

“If nothing changes, it means more than 30,000 people die if we count the whole year. There are many preventable deaths at a time when we have vaccines and medicines, that we consider this acceptable. We are not able to to revoke the operational decree without harming the society “, declared the expert.

We celebrate together the achievements of science, including the victory of vaccines, which made it possible to reduce the number of cases of contamination, prevent the occurrence of the severe form of serious disease, and avoid thousands of deaths.

However, we can not stop here. We are going through a moment of transition, with a decrease in cases and deaths, but we can not say what will happen. As recommended by the World Health Organization, this should be a time of preparation for the possibility of being in an interpandemic phase.

In the face of a series of mistakes by the Brazilian government, the assurance we have today is that we can no longer make mistakes. It is urgent to pursue science in the elaboration of plans and decision-making, which means the inclusion of proven drugs against Covid-19 in SUS, the establishment of work protocols at all levels of the care network, the strengthening of immunization campaigns and the monitoring of own epidemiological. of the pandemic.

Based on the evidence presented, SoU_Ciência proposes the repeal of the decree that ended ESPIN, as it is a necessary step, as well as the structuring of a national coordination that listens to science, evaluates SUS and continues to fight against public health emergencies. , which still torments us and which can prepare us for others.

* Lu Sudré for SoU_Science

If you want to know more about it, check out the full debate. here.

https://hydroflaskuk.co.uk/2022/04/29/the-end-of-the-pandemic-29-04-2022-i-am-science/