Technical note from Health contradicts Queiroga and recommends masks

The Ministry of Health contradicted the head of the portfolio, Marcelo Queiroga, by stating in a technical note that measures such as the use of masks and social distance should be encouraged at this time in the face of the increase in Covid cases.

The guidance is in the letter that released the vaccine against Covid-19 for people aged 50 and over, published on Saturday (4). The document was prepared by the Extraordinary Secretariat to Combat Covid-19.

“In addition, non-pharmacological measures (distancing and use of masks) should be encouraged in the current epidemiological moment”, says the text. The moving average of new cases per day more than doubled compared to two weeks ago.

On Saturday, Queiroga said he sees no reason to force the population to wear a mask at the current time. “If you want to wear a mask, use it. People feel comfortable wearing a mask, they can use it. No problem. Now, we understand that, at the current moment, there is no reason to force the use of masks”, he told TV Record. .

This Monday (6), the minister again minimized the importance of masks and incorrectly stated that their use has no proven benefits.

“The mandatory use of a mask has no proven benefit. What works is for people to adhere to the policies and this is more effective. If you want to wear a mask, use it”, he said at a basic health unit in Brasília when taking the fourth dose of vaccine.

On Friday (3), Marcelo Queiroga said that “the mandatory use of masks is unprecedented nonsense”. According to the minister, “the population is enlightened and uses the masks if they feel comfortable with them”.

On Thursday (2), Queiroga followed the same line by saying that wearing a mask or not “is everyone’s right”. In an interview with Sheetthe minister stated that the mask “sometimes even serves as a political positioning”.

THE Sheet asked the Ministry of Health what is the guidance of the folder on the use of masks, but there was no response until the publication of the report.

The president of the National Health Council, Fernando Pigatto, says that, in order not to displease President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), the ministry has been giving the population ambiguous guidelines since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Instead of continuing with explicit campaigns to encourage people to take care of themselves, vaccinate themselves and wear masks, the government always has a dubious campaign, always creates doubts”, he says.

“For [o ministério] saying that he did something, he makes this type of recommendation late, but he does not disclose much because, if he discloses too much, he takes reprisals from the President of the Republic and has to go back, as he has done several times”, he adds.

The coordinator of Rede Análise (an organization that collects and analyzes data related to Covid-19), Isaac Schrarstzhaupt, says that Brazil is facing a new wave of coronavirus. He says that cases increased again in mid-April — first in the South, then in the Southeast and Midwest, and now in the North and Northeast.

Schrarstzhaupt believes that people should return to wearing a mask indoors “for sure”. “The way the transmission is, if you have a vulnerable person, the virus will get to them because it is literally everywhere,” she says.

In recent days, Conass (National Council of Health Secretaries) asked the Ministry of Health for a broad communication campaign to reinforce the risks of infection by the new coronavirus and improve vaccination rates, especially booster doses.

The president of Conass, Nésio Fernandes, says that there are fears that cases of Covid-19 will increase even more in the second half of the year amid the elections.

“We are concerned that, in the midst of the election period, there is a new oscillation of cases in Brazil considering the high percentage of the susceptible population: those who have not started the vaccination schedule, who are with the schedule delayed or who received the last dose for more than six months. This percentage [de pessoas que receberam a última dose há mais de seis meses] can be very high in the second semester”, says Fernandes.

Conass advocates a 90/90 campaign: 90% of all audiences vaccinated against Covid-19 within 90 days. According to the consortium of press vehicles, of which Sheet part, only 43% of the population received the booster dose.

In an interview with Sheet, Queiroga stated that the secretaries “only ask”. “What they have to do is execute public policy at the end. Because money at the end was enough for them, and a good part of them misused public resources.”

For Cosems-SP (Council of Municipal Health Secretaries of São Paulo), the use of masks in closed places is highly recommended at this time. The assessment is the same as the Covid-19 Contingency Committee of the São Paulo government.

“At this time of year, it is highly recommended to use masks because respiratory viruses will be circulating in a much more expressive way”, says the director of Cosems-SP and municipal secretary of health of Jundiaí (SP), Tiago Texera.

“We have no doubt that, in this coming winter, we will have the circulation of all variants of Influenza. [gripe] and Covid-19. Let’s live with these two respiratory diseases. That’s why it’s so important [usar máscara]especially in these colder months of the year”, says Texera.

This Monday (6), Jundiaí once again demanded the use of a mask in schools. Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo and São Caetano do Sul also made this recommendation. One of the concerns is the increase in SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) cases in children.

For state health secretaries, the moment calls for caution. Conass says that the trend of growth in cases may have repercussions in the coming weeks in an increase in hospitalizations and deaths – which, according to the council, has not yet been observed. In addition, the stagnation of vaccination poses a serious risk for the emergence of new variants.

Collaborated with Raquel Lopes