Brazil has become the second country in the world to have more than 600,000 COVID-19 deaths, despite far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s handling of the outbreak drawing widespread criticism.
Bolsonaro, a coronavirus sceptic, has angered health professionals and many Brazilians by downplaying the seriousness of the virus, rejecting lockdowns and other public health precautions, and failing to acquire COVID-19 vaccinations in a timely manner.
He has been the target of major protests in recent months, with protestors blasting his government’s COVID-19 policies and asking for his impeachment, while a Brazilian Senate committee started an inquiry into his pandemic policies in April.
Despite Friday’s sombre milestone, there were hints that infections in Brazil were finally subsiding, as the country stepped up vaccines following a sluggish start. More than 70% of Brazilians had received their first dosage, compared to only 65% in the United States, where the death toll reached 600,000 in June.
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‘The rejection rate of vaccines is really low, it makes other countries jealous. That’s really important for Brazil to contain the pandemic,’ said Alexandre Naime Barbosa, head of epidemiology at Sao Paulo State University.
Despite the introduction of the more dangerous strain, Brazil looks to have been spared from the worst of the Delta variety so far, with recorded fatalities and cases dropping. Deaths were down 80% from their April high of more than 3,000 per day, and Brazil no longer has one of the highest daily death rates in the world.
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