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The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said today that the situation of the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil is “very, very worrying.” The statement was made during a press conference in Geneva.
According to the WHO representative, “Brazil should take this very, very seriously. It is very, very worrying.” He warned of the evolution of the coronavirus in the South American country, where almost 173,000 people have died. He also criticized the handling of the epidemic in Mexico.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also stated that he will do his best to find out the origin of the virus and hopes to quickly send an international team to Wuhan, China, where the epidemic began. “There is nothing to hide and the position of the WHO is clear. We have to know the origin of the virus to prevent future epidemics,” he said. He regretted that the technical issue was politicized.
President Jair Bolsonaro denies the severity of the disease and announced last week that he has no intention of getting vaccinated against covid-19, when immunization is available.
“I will not accept it, it is my right”
“I tell you, I will not accept it, it is my right,” he said in a live on Thursday (26). Brazil is the second country with the most deaths from the disease in absolute numbers, only behind the United States. Bolsonaro has faced criticism for his handling of the pandemic.
It minimizes the disease and at the same time opposes the quarantine and confinement measures, promoting the use of drugs such as hydroxychloroquine. Several studies have already shown the ineffectiveness of this drug against covid-19.
The president was infected with the coronavirus in July. More than half of his office tested positive. Bolsonaro also said he was sure Congress would not make the vaccine mandatory. Many countries show hope that the pandemic and its devastating impacts will be ended soon after laboratory announcements that their vaccines are 95% effective.
On Wednesday (25), the US pharmaceutical group Pfizer informed Anvisa about the tests of its vaccine, a necessary step to apply for registration. The Brazilian Ministry of Health has already signed a contract to buy 100 million doses of a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
(With information from AFP)
