Queiroga should discuss with SUS managers a deadline for transition from the end of the health emergency

The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, said that the ordinance declaring the end of the health emergency should be published by next Friday (22). He added that he should talk to SUS managers to discuss the transition period for the ordinance to come into force.

Conass (National Council of Health Secretaries) and Conasems (National Council of Municipal Health Secretaries) sent a letter to the minister this Tuesday (19) asking for a period of 90 days for the transition.

The managers’ intention is that during this period, a recovery plan will be developed capable of defining indicators and control strategies with integrated surveillance of respiratory syndromes.

“I’m going to discuss it with Conass and Conasems, I’m going to do a technical analysis of it. They sent me a letter, but the letter doesn’t objectively point out which are the points that need to last longer than 30 days. objectives showing this need, the Ministry of Health is open to discuss”, he said in an interview this Wednesday (20) with Jovem Pan.

In a press conference on Monday (18), however, he had given a deadline to publish the ordinance until Wednesday (20), and it would come into force within a period of 30 days.

SUS managers argued in the document that states and municipalities promoted a great expansion of health surveillance and care services, especially with the expansion of beds, the necessary temporary hiring of a large contingent of professionals, in addition to hiring for the acquisition of supplies necessary for the facing the pandemic.

“Therefore, it is imperative to readjust services and relocate professionals, in addition to adapting contracts already signed and in progress, which will require considerable effort from municipalities and states, which cannot be concluded in a short space of time. time,” he said in the document.

Queiroga declared on the night of this Sunday (17), in a radio and TV chain, the end of the health emergency caused by Covid-19. In his speech, he highlighted federal investments in the pandemic and offered solidarity to the victims of the disease.

Since February, the minister has been publicly addressing the matter. Behind the scenes, Palácio do Planalto has been pushing for the measure, as President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) will run for reelection. In addition, Queiroga expected to be recognized as the manager that ended the health crisis in Brazil.

In a press conference on Monday (20), Queiroga said that no public health policy will be interrupted. ​In the Ministry of Health alone, 170 rules can be impacted with the end of the health emergency. However, he didn’t give too many details.

​The so-called Espin (Public Health Emergency of National Importance) supports the emergency use of vaccines, non-bidding purchases and other rules related to the pandemic.

The Ministry of Health has requested that Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) authorize for another year the emergency use of Coronavac, a vaccine by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac produced in Brazil in partnership with the Butantan Institute, even with the end of the emergency. health in health.

With the end of the health emergency, the use of the Coronavac vaccine against Covid-19 should be restricted to children and adolescents aged 5 to 18 years.

The executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Rodrigo Cruz, said at the press conference that some measures will be maintained even with the end of Espin, such as rapid testing in pharmacies. He also advocates strengthening telehealth.

Since its inception, the Covid-19 pandemic has officially caused the death of more than 660,000 Brazilians. Bolsonaro has always been a critic of the measures advocated by the World Health Organization, alleging more serious harm with the paralysis of the economy, and has encouraged denialist speeches and practices for several months, including the use of drugs that have been proven to be ineffective against the disease.

Queiroga and Bolsonaro even promised to end the pandemic in Brazil and declared that Covid-19 had become an endemic disease. The plan was to reinforce the version that the government has overcome the health crisis, in addition to discouraging the use of masks and other protective measures against the virus.

As Folha showed, Queiroga modulated his speech when he was alerted by assistants that he has no power to end the pandemic — the task is only up to the WHO (World Health Organization).

The minister would only be able to revoke Espin. This would be the main way to empty restrictions against Covid. Health then began to aim at the end of rules that are considered unnecessary at the moment,