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Lack of coordination increased vaccine inequality in Brazil, says research

A report released this Wednesday (23) by Oxfam points out that Brazil, despite having the 2nd highest number of cases of Covid-19 in the Americas, is 15th in primary vaccination coverage. Today, the nation has over 35 million cases, second only to the United States, which accounts for 98 million infections.

The document, entitled “Inequality in access to vaccines against Covid-19 in Brazil”, cites data from the Ministry of Health to reach its conclusion.

The folder points out that, on October 11, 2022, the average primary vaccination coverage against Covid-19 in the population aged three years or more was 81.5%. However, according to the report, the variation in the number of immunized people can be very significant depending on the state.

In Roraima, the average was 57.5%, while in São Paulo it reached 91%. The study shows that only 16% of Brazilian municipalities achieved vaccination coverage above 80%.

Another data released was on primary vaccination coverage by gender. In all Brazilian states, women were more vaccinated than men. According to the study, no data were found on the immunization of the LGBTQIA+ population.

The distribution of the vaccine against Covid-19 showed great variations and made it impossible to analyze vaccine coverage by race/skin color. According to the report, the lack of systematic registration in this field prevents the deepening of the debate on racial inequalities in access to the vaccine in the country.

“By making racial groups unfeasible and preventing their condition of vulnerability from being taken into account in the performance and implementation of public policies, the effects of structural and institutional racism compromise the analysis of racial inequality in access to the vaccine against covid-19”, says the search.

About this, the report uses data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which show that, in May 2021, rich countries – which have 15% of the world’s population – held 45% of vaccines, while low- and medium-income countries income — who have almost half of the population — had access to 17% of immunizers.

Around the world, while the first vaccines began to reach the market at the end of 2020, the Brazilian government chose to invest in just one brand, leaving aside CoronaVac, which was being researched by the Butantan Institute in partnership with the Chinese Sinovac.

Lack of coordination

Based on testimonials and interviews, the report points out that there was no dialogue between representatives of society and the federal government, causing delays and misunderstandings in the definition of priority groups.

Faced with the emergency of immunizing the population, several subnational entities, such as states and municipalities, had to mobilize to negotiate vaccines directly with pharmaceutical companies, but the dispute between the federal government and the supplying countries made it difficult to delay the delivery of vaccine to everyone.

*Supervision by André Rosa, from CNN

Source: CNN Brasil

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