SÃO PAULO (AP) – Brazilian marketing executive Eduardo Menga is extremely cautious with regard to health. During the pandemic, he consulted a number of doctors to make sure he was in good shape and moved his family from Rio de Janeiro to a quiet country town, where he works remotely. His wife Bianca Rinaldi, an actress, has not worked since March.
Menga and Rinaldi are among the minority of Brazilians who will pay for the COVID-19 vaccine if an association of private clinics manages to close a deal to bring 5 million vaccines to the most unequal country in Latin America. President Jair Bolsonaro, criticized for the way his government handled the pandemic, promised not to interfere.
“When I go to a restaurant and pay for my own food, I don’t take anyone’s food,” said Menga, 68, from her home in Jundiaí, in the interior of São Paulo. “I don’t think getting a vaccine from a private clinic will get it from someone else who is waiting in the public system. It may be an alternative line, and those who have the chance should follow it.
In the midst of the government’s wobbly launch, many Brazilians with money want to find a quick route to vaccination, provoking reactions from some public health experts and sparking debate on social networks, editorial pages and talk shows.
There is a global concern that the privileged can circumvent the system to be vaccinated before others. When those connected were taken a leap ahead, in countries like Turkey, Morocco and Spain, they faced criticisminvestigations or forced layoffs.
Brazil has also received reports of line jumpers, but the country stands out because the maneuvers are not only done in the shadows. Part is in sight, with the successful coordination efforts that the government endorses, according to Roberto DaMatta, professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame.
“The pandemic makes inequality in Brazil more obvious, because the virus does not choose social class, but the cure can only,” said DaMatta, who wrote the book “Do You Know Who You Are Talking To?” a portrait of Brazilian privilege. It was inspired by episodes during the pandemic, including a judge who refused a policeman’s order to put on a mask, called the head of state security to protest and tore his $ 100 fine ($ 20).
“Brazil’s rich slavery normalized for a long time. Now, they accept that more poor and black people die from COVID, and put little pressure on a government that has sabotaged the deployment. Getting the vaccine in this setting may depend on the organization, so the rich are getting organized, ”DaMatta told The Associated Press.
Business leaders and some officials defend attempts to secure a vaccine as an incentive for Brazil’s economic reinitialization. And anyway, they argue, why shouldn’t the rich buy vaccines if government efforts are failing? To date, Brazil has 13.9 million vaccines available for a population of 210 million people and has applied the first of the two vaccines to just 1% of citizens since the start of immunizations on 18 January.
Health experts, in turn, regard these efforts as unethical due to the global shortage of vaccines, and groups at risk have a more immediate need to prevent death; almost 230,000 Brazilians have died of COVID-19, the second highest count in the world.
And although people over 65, like Menga, are at the top of the list, Brazil’s slow launch, which can take up to 16 months, means it can take a long time before he gets the injection, and even more so for his wife, that has 46.
The debate over the unfair distribution of vaccines in Brazil began after Supreme Court officials allegedly maneuvered to reserve around 7,000 COVID-19 vaccines for them and their families; the government laboratory that will make and distribute AstraZeneca’s injections has declined, saying it cannot reserve injections. Prosecutors in the state of São Paulo also lobbied for inclusion in priority groups, alongside health professionals.
After these efforts failed, private health clinics in Brazil stepped in to try to circumvent government procurement plans. Executives from the association of private clinics in Brazil negotiated directly with the Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech for the COVAXIN injection. The association of some 30,000 private clinics is registering potential clients on a waiting list.
Brazil has no agreements with Bharat and its health regulator has yet to approve COVAXIN, but in a sign of what the future holds if the deal goes through, the association of judges in the state of Rio Grande do Sul asked its members this month past if they were interested in buying photos from the clinic association.
Gonzalo Vecina, who headed the Brazilian health agency between 1999 and 2003, says that these private sector efforts pose a major problem, not only for ethical and legal reasons, but also for public health.
“The private network does not have to follow the priority protocol of the Ministry of Health. So, if that goes ahead, we will have a queue for people who have $ 200, where you can have a chance next week, and another that will not move for months, ”said Vecina.
“What everyone needs to understand is that the pandemic will not end if it does not end for everyone.”
Most of the planet depends on public health networks to administer vaccines, and few countries with large populations are using private channels for distribution. A notable exception is the USA, where Americans can obtain their vaccines from pharmacies, clinics and other private institutions. Hospitals in at least eight U.S. states have been accused of favoring board members, trustees, relatives and donors who should have waited their turn.
On January 26, Bolsonaro said he signed a letter to reinforce the offer of a group of Brazilian executives to score 33 million doses of the AstraZeneca injection, half to use as they wish and half donated to the country’s public health system.
Brazilian media reported that at least 11 companies were in the group, including state-owned oil company Petrobras, steelmaker Gerdau and telephone operator Oi, who declined to comment.
“This would help the economy a lot and also those who may want to get vaccinated,” said Bolsonaro about the companies’ efforts. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes called the effort “evidently very good”.
On the other hand, a council of business leaders in neighboring Colombia faced an obstacle in seeking permission to purchase COVID-19 outlets. The Colombian Minister of Health said that the possibility will only be considered in the second phase of immunization, after all health professionals and people over 60 have received the vaccines.
Despite Bolsonaro’s support, AstraZeneca rejected the efforts of Brazilian executives, saying in a statement that it would not supply the Brazilian private sector, at least for now. The industry federation of São Paulo released a statement two days later denying that such negotiations have taken place.
A former governor of the central bank of Brazil, Armínio Fraga, said he is opposed to the movements of the wealthiest Brazilians and fears that vaccine prices may rise if companies are allowed to bid for them.
“We live in a time of global scarcity,” said Fraga, a partner at the investment company Gávea Investimentos, in an online interview with the newspaper Valor. “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.