Arthur Chioro says Bolsonaro's "beastly behavior" is undermining the success of vaccines in Brazil.
Former Health Minister says that vaccination is an act of love, solidarity, and collective responsibility, and that none of that aligns with Bolsonaro's views.
By Cida Oliveira, on Rede Brasil Atual – Former Health Minister Arthur Chioro states that President Jair Bolsonaro, with his "beastly behavior," is undermining the credibility of immunization in Brazil. And this applies not only to the COVID-19 vaccine, but also to a range of diseases. "Brazil, which had a certificate of eradication for diseases like polio and measles and was on track to eradicate rubella, will return to deplorable conditions. We will see a resurgence of tuberculosis and other serious diseases that are preventable by vaccines. This is unacceptable," he said during his appearance on the TVT program "Bom para Todos".
"I hear from health managers that coverage for MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), tuberculosis, tetanus, and all the other vaccines has dropped significantly. This is because there is an insidious campaign, all the time, that is starting to plant the idea in people's minds that vaccines are harmful."
According to the public health physician, who was Minister of Health during the second term of President Dilma Rousseff (PT), among the 33% of Brazilians who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated are elderly people who claim to have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, but who, because they had a fever, decided not to return to the health center to receive the second dose. Or people who, because they consider themselves healthy and well-nourished, believe they do not need immunization.
“And they spend all their time listening to fake news and all the president's actual actions. This creates a pocket of susceptible people. And we will very likely see an increase in the number of Covid cases in the coming weeks and months due to the existence of room for the virus to circulate among us because of low immunization rates.”
Brazil is a leader in immunization.
According to Chioro, the government's disservice to public health will be measured not by COVID-19 vaccination rates, but by influenza (flu) vaccination rates. "It's the lowest coverage in history. It's no wonder we're now experiencing a completely out-of-season H3N2 flu epidemic. It was expected in the northern hemisphere. For us, it was expected to start in April or May."
Chioro pointed out that Brazil is a world leader in immunization. The country that has Zé Gotinha (the mascot for the Brazilian vaccination campaign) as a cultural heritage is the one that has the greatest confidence in vaccines administered by the SUS (Unified Health System) than in the private network. And it possesses expertise in the sophisticated mission of delivering vaccines to the most remote corners of the country, maintaining the appropriate temperature for the safety of the population. "Research conducted last year by the Pan American Health Organization in the Americas, before the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine, showed that the Brazilian population is the one that most adheres to the campaign."
In many European countries, vaccination rates weren't as high not because of denialism, but because there isn't a culture of vaccination. In those wealthy countries, measles, tuberculosis, and meningitis didn't cause the same devastation they did here; they didn't have the same impact. That's why Brazilians joined the campaigns, while Europeans didn't as much.
Since the coup that ousted President Dilma, experts have been warning about the decline in vaccination coverage in the country, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. The dismantling of policies has also contributed to parents no longer taking their children to health centers. This is already reflected in the reappearance of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles.
For more vaccines
Earlier this month, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) launched a program to stimulate immunization in the country, aiming to return to levels seen 12 years ago. This is the "Reconquest of High Vaccination Coverage" project, which has the support of sectors within the Ministry of Health, the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Women of Brazil Group.
The project will establish an inter-institutional and international collaboration network, seeking to improve Brazilian vaccination coverage. Strategic support actions will be implemented for the National Immunization Program to reverse the downward trend in vaccination coverage among children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly, including pregnant women and indigenous populations.
“Every vaccine has a dual role: individual and collective protection, preventing or reducing the severity of the disease. But the main role is collective protection. Vaccination is an act of love, solidarity, and collective responsibility. When everyone gets vaccinated, we have control over the disease-causing agent,” said Chioro.