Brazil is seeing a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases, which is now close to seven million, and an acceleration in the number of deaths, with another 915 in the last 24 hours (15-16 December). In all, a total of 182,799 lives have already been lost, and that’s without taking underreporting into account. Despite warnings from experts and health agencies, governments have been shy to implement new social distancing measures, which with end-of-year parties could see January become a month of record deaths. Furthermore, the federal government has not guaranteed the continuation of emergency relief, which will increase poverty and misery and put the lives of even more black and poor people at risk.
Against the backdrop of new waves of infections, the only positive news is the breakthrough in vaccine development. Initial rounds of vaccination have already occurred in Britain months before most predictions suggested, and several vaccines are now in advanced stages of development.
Brazil is falling behind in the global race for the vaccine, and this is not by chance or through incompetence. This is a political decision, in line with the denialism with which the government has treated the pandemic. The Ministry of Health has not prepared for immunization, having neither bought or reserved any syringes, and this is with up to 300 million syringes and needles being needed, given that the most advanced vaccine is applied in two doses.
Coincidentally, the private sector is already moving to transform the pandemic into profit. Private hospital associations and vaccine clinics are offering their networks of private clinics, hospitals, and laboratories to the government so that they can take part in the vaccination program. Of course, this is not a humanitarian action, but a new onslaught by private health on the public Unified Health System (SUS), which will more than likely see its budget reduced in 2021.
The Bolsonaro government only conceded to vaccination after state governments, such as that in São Paulo, offered to start administering vaccines themselves. Only then did the federal government talk about buying any vaccine that was approved by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) in “five days”. Wednesday 16 December saw the official announcement of the government’s national immunization plan, a plan that was made in haste and without even consulting the relevant health experts. The minister of Health assured those at the press conference that he would plan for the purchase of vaccine doses and mass vaccination, and that there would be no differential treatment for the states. General Pazuello then brazenly invoked the SUS and said: “The Brazilian people have the capacity to have the best single health system in the world, to have the best national immunization program in the world, we are the largest vaccine manufacturers in Latin America. Why is there such anxiety, such anguish?” This statement shows a total lack of respect for all the victims of COVID-19 and their families.
Bolsonaro: “I will not get vaccinated”
The about-turn and speeches from the Minister of Health stand in stark contrast to the statements and omissions of the president. On Tuesday 15 December, in an interview with José Luiz Datena, host of a TV news program on the Bandeirantes Network, Bolsonaro said that he would not get vaccinated: “It is one thing to be a citizen and another to be a president. But as I have never run away from the truth, I say: I will not take the vaccine. If anyone thinks that my life is at risk, the problem is mine, period”. The president also said that the vaccination will not be mandatory, defended the need for a “consent form” to be signed by those who will be vaccinated, and stated that he asked the Minister of Health Pazzuello to start “to reveal what the directions for this medication are”. And Pazuello only made it to the ministry because he would not disobey or question the president…
The president has publically acknowledged that he will act to discourage the vaccine and present it as being dangerous. As Folha de S. Paulo journalist Bruno Boghossian points out, the continuing speeches of the president have found an echo: “Since August, the percentage of Brazilians who do not want to get vaccinated has risen from 9% to 22%. That is 46 million people who may suffer from the disease or spread the virus”.
Anguish must be turned into revolt: Out with the genocidal Bolsonaro!
President Jair Bolsonaro has been denounced by the Hague Court for his crimes during the pandemic. There is no doubt about his responsibility and that of his minister for the thousands of deaths that have occurred. It is right to be anguished. Bolsonaro continues to promote public gatherings, has allowed millions of testing kits to expire, and now discourages and sabotages vaccination, using his machine of lies to instill fear into thousands of Brazilians. We know that mass immunization is the way to prevent infection. Sabotaging the vaccine has one objective: to prolong the situation in which the government and Congress can continue “passando a boiada” (letting the whole herd pass), that is, allowing privatizations, administrative reform, the exclusion of legality and other anti-popular policies to pass. More than ever, it is time to shout ‘Fora Bolsonaro’ (Bolsonaro Out), for the defense of life, the defense of the SUS, and to demand vaccination en masse.
This article is an English translation of “Bolsonaro anuncia plano, enquanto combate e sabota a vacinação”, Esquerda Online (EOL), 16/12/2020.
Translation: Bobby Sparks
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