SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazilian marketing director Eduardo Menga is extremely cautious when it comes to his health. During the pandemic, he consulted a lot of doctors to make sure he was in good shape and uprooted his family from Rio de Janeiro in a quiet rural town where he works remotely. His wife, Bianca Rinaldi, an actress, has not worked since March.
Menga and Rinaldi are among a minority of Brazilians who will pay for a COVID-19 vaccine if an association of private clinics can reach an agreement to bring 5 million photos to the most unequal country in Latin America. President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under fire for the government’s handling of the pandemic, has vowed not to intervene.
“When I go to a restaurant and pay for my own food, I don’t take someone else’s food,” said 68-year-old Menga from his home in Jundiai, Sao Paulo. “I don’t think getting a vaccine from a private clinic will take it from someone else waiting in the public system. It could be an alternative line, and those who have the chance should take it. ”
Against the backdrop of government vaccinations, many Brazilians with money want to find a quick way to vaccination, provoking reactions from public health experts and igniting debates on social media, editorial pages and talk shows.
Globally, there has been concern that the privileged could play the system to get vaccinated before others. When those connected were caught jumping ahead in countries such as Turkey, Morocco and Spain, they faced criticism., investigations or forced resignations.
Brazil also had its reports of line jumpers, but the nation differs because the maneuvers are not done only in the shadows. Some of them are outdoors, with the government’s successful coordination efforts, according to Roberto DaMatta, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame.
“The pandemic is making Brazil’s inequality more apparent, because the virus is not choosing social class, but healing could be,” said DaMatta, who wrote the book “Do You Know Who You’re Talking to?” a portrait of Brazilian privilege. He was inspired by pandemic episodes, including a judge who refused a police officer’s order to put on a mask, then called the head of state security to protest and broke the fine of 100 reais ($ 20). .
“Brazil’s rich slavery has normalized for centuries. Now, they accept that more poor and black people are dying because of COVID and put little pressure on a government that sabotaged the launch. Taking the vaccine in this scenario could depend on the organization, so the rich get organized, “DaMatta told The Associated Press.
Business leaders and some authorities are defending attempts to secure a vaccine, boosting Brazil’s economic recovery. And anyway, they argue, why shouldn’t he buy vaccines with heels well if government efforts fail? To date, Brazil has 13.9 million photos available for a population of 210 million people and has granted the first of the two photos to only 1% of citizens since vaccinations began on January 18.
Health experts, in turn, believe that these efforts, as unethical vaccines, are rare globally and at-risk groups have a more immediate need to avoid death; nearly 230,000 Brazilians have already died from COVID-19, the world’s second-largest number.
And while people over the age of 65, such as Menga, are near the top of the list, Brazil’s slow launch, which could take up to 16 months, means it could be a long time before be shot and even more so for his wife, who is 46 years old. .
Debates over the unfair distribution of vaccines in Brazil began to emerge for the first time after it appears that Supreme Court employees maneuvered to set aside about 7,000 COVID-19 vaccines for themselves and their families; the government lab that will take and distribute photos AstraZeneca has refused, saying it cannot reserve photos. Sao Paulo state prosecutors have also lobbied for inclusion in priority groups, along with health professionals.
After those efforts flew, private health clinics in Brazil intervened to try to circumvent public procurement plans. The directors of the association of private clinics in Brazil negotiated directly with the Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech for the COVAXIN shot. The association of approximately 30,000 private clinics registers potential clients on a waiting list.
Brazil has no agreements with Bharat, and its health regulator has not yet approved COVAXIN, but in a sign of the future, if the agreement passes, the Rio Grande do Sul judges’ association asked its members last month whether are interested in buying photos from the association of clinics.
Gonzalo Vecina, who headed Brazil’s health agency between 1999 and 2003, says such private sector efforts are a major problem, not only for ethical and legal reasons, but also for public health.
“The private network must not comply with the priority protocol of the Ministry of Health. So, if this goes further, we will have a line for people who have $ 200, where you can get a photo next week and another that will not move for months, ”said Vecina.
“What everyone needs to understand is that the pandemic doesn’t end if it doesn’t end for everyone.”
Most of the planet relies on public health care networks to administer vaccines, and few countries with large populations use private distribution channels. A notable exception is the USA, where Americans can take their photos in pharmacies, clinics and other private institutions. Hospitals in at least eight US states have been accused of favoring board members, administrators, relatives and donors who should have waited their turn.
On January 26, Bolsonaro said he signed a letter in support of an offer from a group of Brazilian executives to score 33 million doses of the AstraZeneca shot, with half to use as they please and half donated to the system. public health of the country.
The Brazilian press reported that at least 11 companies were in the group, including the state oil company Petrobras, the steelmaker Gerdau and the telephone operator Oi, all of which refused to comment.
“That would help the economy a lot, and also those who might want to get vaccinated,” Bolsonaro said of the companies’ efforts. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes called the effort “obviously very good.”
Instead, a board of business leaders in neighboring Colombia hit a hurdle when they asked permission to buy COVID-19 photos. The Colombian health minister said the possibility would be considered only in the second phase of immunization, after all health professionals and people over the age of 60 were shot.
Despite Bolsonaro’s support, AstraZeneca has refused the efforts of Brazilian executives, saying in a statement that it will not supply Brazil’s private sector, at least for the time being. The Sao Paulo Industrial Federation issued a statement two days later denying that such negotiations had ever been continued.
A former governor of Brazil’s central bank, Armínio Fraga, has said he opposes the movements of wealthier Brazilians and fears that vaccine prices could rise if companies are allowed to bid for them.
“We are living in a time of global shortage,” said Fraga, a partner at investment firm Gavea Investimentos, in an online interview for Valor newspaper. “We need some coordination so that the priority groups are respected.” ____
AP reporters Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Elena Becatoros from Athens, Aritz Parra from Madrid, Mosa’ab Elshamy from Rabat and Russ Bynum from Savannah, Georgia.