Bolsonaro Appoints Reserve Lieutenant Colonel to Anvisa Board | National newspaper

He was chosen by Bolsonaro to replace director Alessandra Bastos Soares, who is a pharmacist and leaves Anvisa in December. He is currently the executive undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, he joined the ministry in May as director of the program under then-Minister Nelson Teich. Kormann is considered a defender of Jair Bolsonaro’s positions within the portfolio.

TV Globo discovered that, in June, it sent a video of the businessman Luciano Hang to a group of ministry employees. The video made by Hang, who is not a doctor, questioned information from the Health Ministry on deaths caused by the coronavirus.

By law, to occupy a managerial position in an agency like Anvisa it is necessary to have notable knowledge in the area and an academic training compatible with the position. In addition, at least ten years of experience in the agency’s field of activity or having held a high-level commissioned or trusted position in the public sector for at least four years.

According to Jorge Kormann’s curriculum, in the health area, the military man has the experience of having been a management and strategic planning advisor at the Area Military Hospital in Porto Alegre.

The nomination has not yet been approved by the Senate. If approved, Jorge Kormann will be the second military officer in the direction of Anvisa appointed by President Bolsonaro. The current CEO is Rear Admiral Antonio Barra Torres, who is a doctor. At the beginning of the pandemic, he participated in a demonstration with Bolsonaro, without a mask and causing crowds, contrary to what the experts preach.

Anvisa was created in 1999 with the mission of promoting and protecting the health of the population. As a regulatory agency, it must maintain a position of independence from the government. The agency is responsible for analyzing drug and vaccine registration requests.

This new indication comes at a time when experts and politicians questioned the agency’s exemption in the decision to suspend the tests of the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by Sinovac in alliance with the Butantan Institute, linked to the São Paulo government. After it became public that the death of the volunteer had nothing to do with the vaccine, the agency announced the resumption of tests.

Rapporteur of two vaccine trials in the Supreme Court, Minister Ricardo Lewandowski asked for explanations about the decision. Anvisa responded that the suspension of CoronaVac tests followed the same protocol already adopted in relation to other immunizers and that the agency acted in an isonomic and impartial manner.