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In his first days in office, Minister Nelson Teich (Health) dispensed with the SUS vest, privileged data that neutralized the impact of the coronavirus and began to adapt the discourse on social isolation.
Part of the movements indicates an attempt to take off the new management of the proposals of the predecessor, former Minister Luiz Henrique Mandetta.
In the first speeches, the minister sought to reinforce the signs of alignment with President Jair Bolsonaro (without a party).
Teich went on to say that the country “does not survive a year off.” He reinforced that the portfolio would deliver, in a week, a directive that would bring an “exit plan” from isolation in some states and municipalities.
He also denied that the country is facing explosive growth in cases. As of Friday (1), there were 6,329 deaths and more than 91,000 confirmed cases.
However, two weeks after taking office, under pressure from congressmen, governors and the numbers of the new disease, Teich already shows signs of changes in the discourse.
While still emphasizing the intention to have new parameters to fight Covid-19, he now claims that the portfolio has never changed its position in the social distance.
Teich also says that the eventual release of economic activities should not occur while the case and death curves are active.
At the same time, it tries to adapt to Bolsonaro’s demands. One of the most visible changes occurred in the Covid-19 epidemic data disclosure format. Daily interviews with the technical team were rare.
Health managers now make presentations on alternate days. So far, there have been three interviews, one of which lasts 17 minutes and others less than an hour. With Mandetta, they lasted more than two hours.
In other days, Teich has participated in announcements on Planalto. However, it does not detail the daily figures.
With the change of command, the ministry began to strengthen the dissemination of data considered positive about the epidemic, such as the total number of people recovered and comparisons with other countries in a worse situation.
On the other hand, it withdrew the data that alerted about the progress of the disease. One of them is the classification of the incidence of cases in states and capitals in parameters of emergency, attention and alert. Instead, the folder has released only two maps that point out the most affected areas.
Balance with the evolution of total deaths by age group and risk factors that left the scene. Now the ministry publishes tables with the date of the deaths, in an attempt to show that there were previous cases.
However, the measure ended up revealing another point of concern: the delay in diagnosis in the country and the large number of recent records.
A Sheet He sought out Teich to comment on the early days of his tenure. He did not return calls and messages.
On Tuesday (28), amid criticism for not commenting on the numbers, which that day reported 474 deaths, Teich called the press.
The same day, Bolsonaro, when asked about the fact that Brazil has overtaken China in the number of deaths, said “so what?”
Teich first admitted that there was a tendency for the disease to worsen. Still, he emphasized that the deterioration was restricted to some regions.
The situation marked the beginning of a change in discourse. Until then, he had avoided giving assertive answers. He still repeats, frequently, that he is analyzing the situation.
The delay in presenting effective measures has generated criticism. In a letter sent to the minister on Thursday (30), the Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science demanded a plan and information on beds and respirators.
“If nothing is done in the next few days, the ministry’s pronouncements will be limited to reporting the number of deaths,” says the document signed by 60 entities.
While asked for answers, the minister slipped on some proposals.
In one of them, it announced 46 million tests, but did not reveal the delivery schedule or how they would be carried out. He also began to face criticism from health secretaries for the difficulty of the dialogue.
Only on Wednesday (29), when he was accused, was the first meeting with the councils of state and municipal health secretaries. Before, meetings were daily.
“There was a gap between the departure of one minister and the inauguration of the other. This worried us, especially since we were working within the epidemic, ”said Jurandi Frutuoso, executive secretary of Conass (secretaries of state).
Teich favored internal meetings and with members of the Planalto. There were at least seven meetings with Bolsonaro.
Frutuoso said there was an agreement to resume the meetings. In the past week, he also started having video meetings with the governors.
For the epidemiologist Gulnar Azevedo, president of Abrasco (Brazilian Association of Public Health), despite the approach, there is a clear lack of coordination with the states and municipalities, which also represent SUS.
“This disarticulation and this vague communication leave the population lost. The situation is out of control, “he said.
Mário Scheffer, from the USP School of Medicine, has a similar evaluation. “The role of the ministry in the system is to establish guidelines and consensus with managers,” he said.
For him, the portfolio has gone against the recommendations of the WHO (World Health Organization).
“It is clear that it would not only be unwise to leave the quarantine in some capitals, but even gradually. May should be the month of the total blockade, ”said Scheffer.
Against the press, Teich has kept the mystery about the names of his team.
Most of the meetings were attended by General Eduardo Pazuello, the only one already confirmed in office, as executive secretary, and Denizar Vianna, special adviser to the minister.
The technical interviews have been monitored by the Secretary of Sanitary Surveillance, Wanderson Oliveira, who works in the transition. In recent months, Oliveira has been known to appear alongside Mandetta, both wearing the SUS vest. The uniform was removed in the current administration.
The Ministry of Health said in a note that, in addition to the daily data, it will also issue weekly bulletins with the aim of “interpreting the epidemiological situation and reflecting on the evidence.”
The folder also stated that it has put incident data by state and capital on one platform. However, capital data was not available until Friday.
The ministry said planning for the guidelines “has already been completed and state and municipal managers will be informed to guide decision-making.”
Regarding the tests, the folder stated that “the distributions have been carried out in accordance with the production capacity of the laboratories.” 1.6 million PCR tests and 3.1 million rapid tests were distributed.
