In the summer of 2020, 28-year-old Graciane da Silva will die of the coronavirus in Brazil. It only takes ten days from the onset of symptoms until her life ebbs.
At the hospital, she is alone when her breath slowly but surely disappears.
– It never struck us that it could happen to her. It went so fast, and the virus did not let us say goodbye, says mother Maria da Penha CNN.
At the time, the death rate was one of the few in the statistics. Simply unusual. In Brazil’s first fight against the virus, it was the elderly who clearly made up the majority of the dead – similar to those in the risk group in Norway and other countries.
But that is no longer the case. In the first months of 2021, a new, worrying pattern has emerged: More young people are now becoming seriously ill and dying of covid-19, say a dozen Brazilian intensive care physicians and nurses with whom CNN has spoken.
Worried that younger people are getting sick
Younger than ever
In the latest wave, patients are younger than ever, they point out.
“Patients between the ages of 30 and 50 now make up the majority of patients,” says intensive care physician Pedro Archer in Rio de Janeiro.
According to Luan Matos de Menezes, an intensive care physician in the city of Manaus, the number of seriously ill people is now “far higher” than in the first wave.
– You can see that their condition is much more critical, he says.
Relatives of Tereza Santos who died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) react during her burial at Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, Brazil March 9, 2021. REUTERS/Carla Carniel
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Brazil’s Ministry of Health estimates that those aged 30 to 59 represent 27 per cent of corona deaths in the country in the last three months – an increase of seven per cent since December. At the same time, according to CNN, they have published in an analysis that shows that the deaths for those over 60 fell by seven percent in the same period.
The channel has not been able to verify the figures, but the Brazilian Public Health Institute Fiocruz published on Tuesday last week a report which supports the development.
«The analyzes from our researchers indicate that we are facing the biggest collapse in the health care system in Brazil’s history“, They wrote and announced that 80 percent of the capacity has been reached in 24 of the country’s 26 states, as well as in the metropolitan area of Brasília.
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What causes it?
Researchers have also seen one in Norway trend in new hospital admissions among young people in recent months.
Monday report FHI that the British virus variant carries a 2.6 times higher risk of being admitted.
– We find that the British variant is associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease being hospitalized. This also applies to young adults, said department director at FHI, Line Vold.
The proportion admitted to Norwegian hospitals in the period 14 December to 7 March was higher for people infected with the British variant than a non-specific variant in all age groups from 20 years and older.
New double mutation discovered in India
When Brazilian researchers try to explain the cause of the worrying development in their country, there are also variants that are pointed out. But here it is their own «P. 1 »it is referred to.
The variant, like the UK, has significant reductions in the viral genome and changes in the receptor binding domain that affect binding to human cells. According to FHI, there is uncertainty related to how well previous immunity or vaccination was protected against the variants. Brazil’s health minister said last month that P. 1 is three times as contagious as the original virus.
Experts in the country say that an increase in partying and the carnival season in the first half of 2021 may be behind the development. Although the carnival in Rio de Janeiro was canceled, several illegal gatherings have been reported in the country.
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– Psychopathic leader
President Jair Bolsonaro and his government have been reluctant to shut down Brazil. Last year, several cities and states imposed strict restrictions on their own initiative, which provoked the president.
On Sunday, March 21, he again attacked measures against the coronavirus, on the occasion of his 66th birthday. He snorted at the experts’ advice on social distancing and the use of face masks to curb the pandemic, although he has recently taken a somewhat more pragmatic stance as a result of the dramatic virus development in the country.
However, his handling and moves have not gone unnoticed within the country’s borders. Governor Joao Doria of Brazil’s and South America’s largest city, São Paulo, called Bolsonaro a “psychopathic leader” by Monday.
– We are in one of the most tragic moments in history. Millions of people pay a high price for having an unprepared and psychopathic person leading in this time, he said.
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He said that several deaths could have been avoided if Bolsonaro had “acted on the responsibility of his position”.
Health workers say Al Jazeera that «Brazil is being suffocated», and points out that there is now a shortage of respirators and capacity in the country.
In the town of Campo Bom, six corona patients died on Friday due to problems with overcrowded intensive care units that are currently working at high speeds, 300 percent above average, the channel writes.
– There has not been sufficient planning. The government should give priority to securing vaccines to avoid the chaotic situation we are in now, says Newton de Oliveira, president of the Brazilian Oil and Gas Industry (IBG).
Several political opponents have also spoken out in recent days. Members of the National Assembly’s Chamber of Deputies designate opposite AP Bolsonaro’s voters and supporters as “accomplices”, demanding his resignation.
Opposition senator Alessandro Vieira, according to the news agency, said the Senate “is not in a position to hold back a federal investigation into the government’s much longer”. Another “prominent senator”, who is speaking on condition of anonymity, expects a federal investigation to be opened next month, writes AP.
Margareth Dalcolmo, a doctor and researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Public Health Fiocruz, also demands change:
– We are in the worst time of our lives, she says according to The Guardian.
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