Brazil's Health System Has Long Since Collapsed, Says Doctor; Situation Catastrophic

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- Hospitals in Brazil are massively over-stretched.
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DW, April 8, 2021. - Ed.

An infectious diseases specialist in Rio de Janeiro says the situation in Brazil's hospitals is catastrophic. He predicts that the death toll will worsen before vaccines start to bring about improvement.
- DW: Is the pandemic out of control in Brazil? David Sufiate: It's hard to say what out of control means in the context of a pandemic. But we are definitely seeing too much strain on our entire health system, from private hospitals to state hospitals. The situation is very serious. At Fiocruz Hospital we have been filled to capacity for over a month, sometimes over. New patients are only admitted to intensive care units when others are discharged or die. I can't say that it's worse now because we've been overburdened for about 3 weeks.

- Older people have already been vaccinated. Who are the patients being admitted to hospitals at the moment? As of yesterday, there is no patient over 80 in the ICUs of the Fiocruz hospital. That shows very clearly the role that the vaccines are playing in the pandemic. At the moment, it's younger people who are affected. The politicians encourage them to leave the house and expose themselves to the virus, with the result that they, too, are getting ill.
- Which age group is most affected? The majority is between 30 and 70. If I were to isolate an age group, I would say the 40 to 60-year-olds. They're the ones who are most affected and being hospitalized.

- Contagious variant: Has the virus changed? It seems clear that some mutations are more infectious. At Fiocruz we can carry out sequencing. 90% of patients have the P.1 mutation at the moment. So, the virus has mutated and is more contagious. Whether that means that the development of the illness is worse is hard to say for now. According to some small studies, this mutation spreads faster. It is infecting more people. In terms of statistics, more people are falling gravely ill. Whether this is due to the mutation is not yet clear. There haven't been enough studies.
- Are people staying in intensive care for longer now? The younger patients have greater reserves and it takes longer for their organs to fail. They have more endurance, that's one way of putting it. That means they remain in intensive care for longer..

We don't have a shortage of medicine or equipment. But many doctors can't get used to working in intensive care.. But many of those working in the health sector are simply tired after such a long time.. They don't want to hear about COVID anymore. It's very dramatic indeed.
- Government role: What could the central government do for you? They should be vaccinating people! All the funds and all the political will should be going towards a mass vaccination program. Recently, 4,100 people died in one day! With vaccines, we could alter the situation. The central government has already said that there will not be a lockdown. Do you think that a lockdown would be appropriate?...

More, https://www.dw.com/en/brazils-health-system-has-long-since-collapsed-says-doctor/a-57134591