Counterfeit vaccine card is just the tip of the iceberg – 05/05/2023 – Sou Ciência

The new scandal involving the Bolsonaro family and their assistant, now with the falsification of the vaccine card on the eve of the flight to the US and which came to light after action by the Federal Police and arrests, is being highlighted for involving up to six types of crimes provided for in the penal code. The former president made a laconic statement on the case, reiterating that he had not taken the vaccine, but something has been missed in the analyzes so far. According to Bolsonaro, “I didn’t take the vaccine because I read the Pfizer leaflet”. Eduardo Bolsonaro repeats the same justification in a tweet: “Bolsonaro always said he didn’t take the vaccine because he read the Pfizer leaflet”.

In addition to the crimes of forgery and conspiracy, this seems to be the “evidence-based” way out that the Bolsonaro family and the denialist horde would have us believe. The ex-president, of notorious anti-intellectualism and aversion to books, surprises: he read something, he read the leaflet.

The anti-vaccine movement has always intended to give a face (or mask) of scientific seriousness to denialism, using distorted data, emotional testimonies of relatives of alleged victims, fake articles or not approved by peers (the preprints), or even published in obscure journals, without academic recognition and verification and control systems. When Andrew Wakefield scored the most famous anti-vaccine article in history, in 1998 in Revista lancet, claiming that the triple caused autism, was debunked after complaints from other scientists. The magazine recanted, withdrew the article from the air and the English doctor had his professional license revoked. Immigrated to the US, he resumed anti-vaccine activism from there and continued to do damage, now with the speed and breadth of social networks and their extremist ecosystem.

Now, what does the Pfizer leaflet say that supposedly led the president not to get vaccinated? Firstly, that it is a medicine specially developed to fight the virus: “Comirnaty is a vaccine to prevent the Covid-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in individuals aged 6 months or more.” The most common side effects pointed out are normal in vaccines: headache, muscle aches, fever, pain at the injection site, nausea. The other effects are rare or extremely rare. Contraindications are for those who may have an allergic reaction to the vaccine components, acute infectious disease, immunosuppressed, coagulation problems and pregnant women. And Bolsonaro does not, as far as we know, have any of these conditions.

Every medication involves an assessment of risks and benefits. The effectiveness of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine is around 95% after the second dose. Remember, Pfizer sent seven proposals to the Brazilian government, which were not responded to by the Ministry of Health, between August and November 2020, which delayed its application in Brazil by at least 3 months, delaying the vaccination plan and its scope.

Since the Bolsonaro family considers that the science behind vaccines and which guides the best conduct in the pandemic can be summarized in package inserts, wouldn’t it be the case to look at what the Hydroxychloroquine package insert says, which was so defended by the government? Bolsonaro himself made at least 23 official speeches defending chloroquine, the Ministry of Health contradicted scientists and the WHO and continued to authorize the use of chloroquine until the end of the Bolsonaro government. Brazil was the only and last country to follow this recommendation without scientific basis.

Now, what does the package leaflet for Hydroxychloroquine say? It is an old, well-known drug, which is known to have therapeutic uses for malaria, different types of rheumatism, for dermatological infections associated with excessive sun exposure. There is no indication in the package insert for use against Covid-19, or to treat respiratory failure. The list of adverse reactions is enormous, including gastrointestinal, hepatic, optical and nervous system dysfunctions, in addition to skin reactions, vertigo and risk of anorexia. Again, the calculation of risk and benefit is central to drug and treatment choice. As there is no scientifically proven benefit of hydroxychloroquine to combat Covid-19, the patient is left with the risk of unnecessary adverse reactions at a critical moment that requires the body to be able to act in the fight against the virus – that is, it cannot be weakened by side effects of an ineffective medicine.

On June 17, 2020, one month after the declaration of the Covid-19 Pandemic (on May 11, 2020), the World Health Organization published a statement against the use of hydroxychloroquine as it does not provide benefits or reduce mortality in Covid-19 patients. 19. And, worse than that, there were consistent studies reporting an increase in adverse events associated with the drug, including cardiac arrhythmias and liver dysfunction, leading to increased deaths in patients with Covid who used chloroquine.

The former president’s criminal conduct with his vaccination card, family members and advisors is just the tiny tip of the iceberg. In addition to this latest scandal, punctual but emblematic, we are facing crimes against humanity committed by Bolsonaro and his team in managing the pandemic in Brazil. The report by the CPI on the Pandemia, the report produced by CEPEDISA from the USP Faculty of Public Health, and the books Cloroquination and Sem Máscara: the Bolsonaro government and the bet for chaos are eloquent in listing evidence and crimes committed by the Federal Government and its “necropolitics network”, which involved the military, parallel office, health plans, pharmaceutical companies, denialist doctors and professional associations and councils among conniving and unethical conduct driven by extremist political alignment.

The SoU_Ciência Center, among other research groups and associations of relatives of Covid victims, has been working to keep memory alive and demand justice and reparation. The most shameful chapter in the history of public health in Brazil cannot be swept under the rug. It is necessary to establish a Court that speeds up the judgment of these crimes and their perpetrators, so that this does not happen again. No amnesty for pandemic crimes!

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