Covid caused the death of at least 4,500 health professionals in Brazil

At least 4,500 health professionals died as a result of Covid-19 in Brazil in the first two years of the pandemic, according to a survey released this Thursday (13) by PSI (Public Services International). Most victims were nursing assistants and technicians and it is estimated that two thirds of them did not have a formal contract.

The survey was commissioned from data intelligence studio Lagom Data by Public Services International, a global trade union federation representing more than 700 unions in 154 countries, and is based on cross-referencing data from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labor and Welfare. The Brazilian episode of the documentary series “Behind the Mask” (behind the mask, in Portuguese) was also released, about the impact of political decisions and corruption in facing the health crisis.

According to the survey, about 70% of the health workers who died were nursing assistants and technicians, 25% were nurses, and 5% were doctors.

In all, 80% of the professionals were women, the majority working in the area.

In the document Profile of Nursing in Brazil, released by Cofen (Federal Nursing Council), in 2016, the country had 1,389,823 nursing assistants and technicians, 85% of which were female. At the time, there were 414,712 nurses, 86% of whom were women.

The research also shows that, in 2020, when professionals came to work without adequate protective equipment and there was still no vaccine available against the disease, the country recorded twice as many deaths of health workers compared to the average of the previous two years.

“In 2021, when the government’s neglect and pressure for reopening led Brazil to the worst mortality rates, health professionals took priority in vaccination and, with that, their mortality began to fall three months before the rest of the professions”, says the study, released on a preliminary basis.

President of the CNTS (National Confederation of Health Workers), Valdirlei Castagna recalls that, in addition to the deaths, many health professionals remain with sequelae. “They were afraid of contracting the virus and passing it on to their families. We had people who stopped going home because of this fear and were isolated from their family. This all led to very great psychological damage.”

Marcello Netto, global communications coordinator at PSI, also emphasizes the consequences of the pandemic. “We have news of traumatized professionals, as many took the disease to families and friends, and without enough teams to date. And also of orphans and dependents without support until today. , criticizes.

The two, however, have different views regarding the recognition of the category after facing the worst moments of the pandemic.

For Castagna, the visibility of health professionals was fundamental for the approval of the law establishing the minimum wage for nursing. “Now, we need this recognition to become a concrete fact, with an indication of the sources of funding”, he defends.

This Thursday (15), President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) said that the government intends to relieve the health payroll to offset the cost of paying the floor.

Netto says that everyone expected the applause to be accompanied by better wages and working conditions, but what is observed is resistance to the implementation of the minimum wage and law 14,128/2021, which deals with the financial compensation of health professionals unable to work. permanently for having acquired Covid-19 depending on the nature of the work and the compensation for dependents in the event of death from the new coronavirus.

“The most urgent thing is to ensure that the nursing salary floor becomes a reality so that we can fight for its automatic annual readjustment by the inflation index, something that Bolsonaro vetoed”, says Netto. “At the same time, we have to involve society so that it presses governments to find ways to improve access to health, despite the spending ceiling that froze investments in the area until 2037.”