Brazil surpasses 600,000 COVID deaths

Brazil surpassed 600,000 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, the Ministry of Health said. In 213 million countries, more than 21.5 million deadly viruses have been recorded.

Many experts believe that the official figures are underestimated, but it is the second most affected country in the world by COVID deaths after the United States.

The United States has recently killed 700,000 people, but its population is 35 percent more.

Brazil recorded 615 new deaths on Friday and 18,000 cases in the last 24 hours.

“The situation has improved, but we can’t be alert,” pulmonologist and renowned Fiocrus Institute researcher Margares Darcolmo told AFP.

She said the pandemic can only be considered under control if “80 percent of the population has been vaccinated.”

So far, 71.4% of Brazilians have been vaccinated at least once, but only 45.9% are fully immunized.

Brazil’s vaccination program began in late January, weeks after Argentina and the United States. Experts blamed the lack of government plans.

But when the immunization drive crawls around and 2,000 Brazilians die from COVID a day, the situation has improved dramatically from three months ago.

Or death Interest rates fell below 1,000 at the end of July and continued to shrink until they stabilized at around 500 in September.

“It’s far from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and the situation is still worrisome,” said Domingos Alves, a researcher at the University of São Paulo School of Medicine.

Despite these concerns Major cities Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo continue their efforts to return to normal life.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes even says that the world’s most popular February carnival will be held “without limits”.

© 2021 AFP