The maps of the spread of Covid-19 in Campinas (SP) indicate that there is a tendency for the disease to spread from the center to the periphery. The southern and eastern regions have a higher number of cases, and in the southwest and northwest there is a progressive increase. Deaths of people under 60 have increased in regions of high social vulnerability. Inequality, as pointed out by the professor of the Postgraduate Program in Public Health at Unicamp, Maria Rita Donalisio Cordeiro, is one of the elements that explain the trend, since factors such as informal work and precarious basic sanitation make health strategies difficult. protection and social isolation.
“The mathematical models show that, at this moment, with this expansion, the speed at which the disease spreads increases. Why? Because they are vulnerable populations, they are informal workers, individuals who live in precarious housing, with insufficient basic sanitation, with more precarious living conditions, which leave them vulnerable”, assesses the professor, who is one of the researchers dedicated to the epidemiological analyzes of Covid. -19 in the city, published periodically in bulletins produced jointly by Unicamp and the city of Campinas.
One of the data that also draws attention, in the bulletin released on Tuesday (19), are deaths of people under 60 among residents of areas of very high social vulnerability. “We see the progressive spread of deaths and diseases to the periphery. Week by week there is an increase in the number of cases and the arrival of fatal cases in these regions. This generates a lot of concern because the speed of the transmission and the curve climb increases”, says Maria Rita.
This trend would be minimized, according to the researcher, if the most vulnerable populations were able to respond to public health measures for individual protection, such as hand washing and the use of masks, and social isolation. To achieve this, support measures from the Public Power, such as emergency salaries, are essential. However, the professor believes that these subsidies are not being sufficient and fast. “It is impossible for us to think about efficient social isolation without support from the government, without support in the form of resources, transfers, to ensure the subsistence of this population until this pandemic passes”.
Another key point highlighted by Maria Rita is the strengthening of the Unified Health System (SUS). “Despite the difficulties, the cuts in resources, the sometimes precariousness of its functioning, it is a gateway to the four corners of the country. These are teams that receive these people with symptoms, who are able to provide some response to populations that depend solely on the SUS, although we have seen a real dismantling of it”.
Lessons from epidemics
Inequalities were even more pronounced and evident during the pandemic, as assessed by Maria Rita. However, she believes that the moment can bring an important reflection on the model of society in which we live, in which the concentration of income is accentuated. A key moment in this process, she says, will be when the effectiveness of a vaccine or medicine is eventually announced. “There is a race for a vaccine or a medicine. Will we guarantee that this vaccine is universally accessible? Will we guarantee this cooperation and solidarity in the poorest populations’ access to this resource?”, she asks.
A great lesson, according to the teacher, can be learned through the process of combating smallpox. This year marks 40 years since the eradication of the disease, which she considers one of humanity's greatest victories in terms of public health, with the leadership of the World Health Organization (WHO) and collaboration between countries and groups of scientists reaching the furthest corners of the planet for vaccination.
“Epidemics have always occurred in the history of humanity, impacting the daily lives of populations. One of the lessons is collaboration and coordination, leadership in carrying out this great task of controlling the outbreak of the epidemic, and especially solidarity between groups, countries and regions”, he points out.
Watch the interview with the professor of the Postgraduate Program in Public Health at Unicamp, Maria Rita Donalisio Cordeiro, on the Direto na Fonte program (Rádio and TV Unicamp):
Production: Liana Coll
Editing: Kléber Casablanca
Interview: Liana Coll
Text: Liana Coll
