On Friday, Brazil urged women to delay pregnancy until the worst of the pandemic cases, and said the variant of the virus that is devastating the South American country appears to affect pregnant mothers more than previous versions of the pandemic. coronavirus.
The recommendation comes as Brazil remains one of the global epicenters of the pandemic, with more Brazilians dying from the virus every day than anywhere else in the world.
Hospitals are shrinking under pressure and stockpiles of drugs needed for intubation of serious patients are dangerously declining, and Brazil is turning to international partners for help with emergency supplies.
“If possible, delay the pregnancy a bit until a better time,” Health Ministry official Raphael Parente told a news conference on Friday.
He said the recommendation is due in part to the stress of the health system, but also to the more easily transmissible Brazilian variant known as P.1.
“The clinical experience of specialists shows that this new variant acts more aggressively in pregnant women,” Parente said.
Previously, cases of COVID-19 during pregnancy focused on the final trimester and birth, while recently there have been more severe cases in the second and occasionally the first trimester, he said.
Parente gave no further details.
The P.1 variant, first discovered in the Amazonian city of Manaus, has quickly become dominant in Brazil. It is believed to be a major factor behind a second massive wave of infections that has raised the death toll in the country to more than 350,000, the second highest in the world behind the United States.
The outbreak in Brazil is increasingly affecting young people, with hospital data showing that in March more than half of intensive care patients were 40 years of age or younger. Read more
President Jair Bolsonaro has opposed the closures and held large events in which he often does not wear a mask. It has only recently adopted vaccines as a possible solution, but the launch of inoculation has been affected by delays and lack of targets to have people inoculated.
This week, vaccinations have been halted in several cities due to the shortage of vaccine supply, according to local media.
The increase in COID-19 cases has also left hospitals with few sedatives needed for patients in need of mechanical ventilation.
An emergency shipment of the drugs arrived in Brazil on Thursday afternoon from China, while donations are expected to arrive from Spain next week.
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have sounded the alarm over the shortage, and the Sao Paulo health secretary said this week that the city’s ability to care for seriously ill COVID-19 patients is about to collapse. to slip.
Despite drug shortages and 85% of intensive care beds occupied, Sao Paulo announced on Friday that it would begin reopening shops and restaurants, saying the number of new hospitalizations had dropped enough to make it safe.
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