SÃO PAULO (AP) – Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday chose his fourth Minister of Health since the COVID-19 pandemic, amid the worst spasms of the disease in the country and after a series of errors reported by health experts. public health.
Marcelo Queiroga, president of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology, will replace Eduardo Pazuello, general of the active with experience in logistics who won the position last May, despite having no previous experience in health.
On Monday morning, Pazuello acknowledged at a news conference that Bolsonaro intended to replace him. The first candidate for the post, cardiologist Ludhmila Hajjar, rejected.
Pazuello’s departure means inaugurating Brazil’s fourth minister of health during the pandemic, although he has chaired the ministry for the longest period of the three so far. The revolving door signals the challenges for the government of the largest nation in Latin America to implement effective measures to control the spread of the virus – or even reach agreement on the necessary measures.
Pazuello’s two predecessors left office amid disagreements with Bolsonaro, who criticized the broad social distance and supported the use of an unproven antimalarial drug to treat the disease. He continues to hold these positions, despite warnings from health experts and studies showing that the drug has no effect on COVID-19.
Pazuello was more accommodating. Immediately after taking office, his ministry supported the use and distribution of the malaria pill. On several occasions, he said that his boss tells him what to do and he obeys.
“The conversation (with Queiroga) was excellent. I had known him for a few years. He has everything to do a good job, continuing what Pazuello has done until today, ”Bolsonaro said to supporters at the entrance to the presidential residence in Brasilia, adding that there will be a transition period of up to two weeks between leaving and the next minister.
“Pazuello’s work was well done in the management area. Now we are in a more aggressive phase in the fight against the virus ”, said the president of Brazil.
Brazil recorded almost 280,000 deaths from the virus, almost all under its command. The number of victims has worsened recently, with the nation averaging more than 1,800 deaths a day. Health systems in major cities are on the verge of collapse, and Bolsonaro’s allied lawmakers have proposed suitable substitutes for Pazuello, while threatening to intensify pressure for an investigation into how he handled the crisis.
The country’s higher court is also investigating Pazuello for alleged negligence that contributed to the collapse of the health system in the state of Amazonas earlier this year. This investigation will now be sent to a judge of first instance.
Weeks later, in a particularly embarrassing episode, his ministry accidentally dispatched a shipment of vaccines destined for Amazonas to neighboring Amapá, and vice versa, after confusing the abbreviations for each state.
Finally, Pazuello has faced intense criticism for the slow implantation of the vaccine in Brazil. According to Our World in Data, an online survey site that compares official government statistics, only 5.4% of Brazilians have been vaccinated. Almost all were injections by Chinese biopharmaceutical company Sinovac, about which Bolsonaro repeatedly cast doubt.
Pazuello’s health ministry also postponed its decision to buy the vaccine from the São Paulo state government until it was left with no other option to start immunization in January.
The only vaccine agreement that Pazuello had closed at the time, for 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab, has brought few shots to Brazilians so far. Since then, his ministry has endeavored to enter into agreements with other suppliers, recently closing deals to acquire the Pfizer and Sputnik V shots.
Pazuello said at a news conference that he would not resign and insisted that there will be continuity with whoever takes office.
Cardiologist Hajjar had previously revealed that Bolsonaro interviewed her to replace Pazuello. She told Globo News that the science has already spoken out against the treatments that Bolsonaro and his legion of supporters continue to advocate, such as drugs to fight malaria and parasites, and that the country needs to take more restrictive measures to the activity. She said she refused the position.
“He needs to choose someone he trusts, who is aligned with him, with his ideas, with his vision and with the government’s will. And I’m certainly not that person, ”she said.
Hajjar predicted between 500,000 and 600,000 deaths in total, not to mention the long-term consequences, unless Brazil changes course.
Queiroga has already called Bolsonaro “a great Brazilian”. His social media channels have not criticized the president’s handling of the pandemic and have pushed for a rapid launch of vaccines.
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AP journalist David Biller contributed to this report from Rio de Janeiro.