Thread by @ernestofaraujo

CNN gets it all wrong on Brazil and Covid.
Here are the facts:

•After a Supreme Court ruling of April 2020, State Governors -not the President- have, in practice, all authority to establish/manage all social distancing measures.

•President Bolsonaro sent US$ 98 billion to...>

the States in 2020 to keep and expand their public health systems with more ICU beds etc (number of ICU beds had decreased under previous Presidents)

•The President created a direct transfer program with US$ 47 billion reaching 67 million poor people, those most affected by...>

the social isolation measures (adopted by the State Governors) and the ensuing economic crisis.

•The President always stimulated the search for Covid treatment with either existing or new drugs, and advocated the principle that Doctors should be allowed to prescribe...>

off-label treatment in order to save lives. He questioned the dogma propagated by the media that “there is no treatment for Covid”, as well as the guidance irresponsibility issued by some “experts” that people should “stay home until they feel very ill”.

•The President sent...>

a bill to Congress in August 2020 authorizing US$ 4 billion for the purchasing of vaccines.

•With Federal Government’s resources and logistics, Brazil started its vaccination process in...>

January. So far, 4.1% of Brazil’s population have been vaccinated (8.7 million people), not far below France (6.2% vaccinated), and above China (3.8%), Canada (3.6%) or Mexico (1.8%).

•Already in February 2020 the Federal Government established the “Rede Vírus”, a network...>

of more than one thousand researchers working on all aspects of the Coronavirus, including the research of vaccines (among the 15 Brazilian vaccine projects, 3 are now close to clinical test phase, all financed by the Federal Government).

•President Bolsonaro just sent...>

a political-technical delegation to Israel, which is back today, having established top-level collaboration mechanisms with leading Israeli research institutes for testing, development and production of medicines & vaccines against Covid, including the EXOCD24 spray, arguably...>

the most promising medicine for Covid-19 currently under test anywhere.

•President Jair Bolsonaro has thus shown, all along, the political leadership necessary to fight Covid at home and enabling Brazil to cooperate with the international community abroad. At the same time,...>

the President was always particularly sensitive to the plight of Brazilians, especially the poor, who are striving in the most challenging circumstances to feed themselves and their families, under the terrible social and economical effects of measures taken by State authorities.