Fiocruz: Vaccination passport and mask essential for reopening

Combining vaccination with measures such as the use of masks, social distancing and the requirement of proof of vaccination to reach some places is essential for the resumption of activities, which today (15) the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) has strengthened, in the weekly COVID-19 Observatory Bulletin.

According to the Foundation’s researchers, the requirement that vaccination be permitted to access closed or crowded cohabitation spaces provides greater calm, as it reduces the risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus in these environments. Regarding masks, the bulletin asserts that if at least 80% of the population has a full vaccination schedule, their use can be made more flexible in outdoor activities that do not involve crowding, but should be required indoors or outdoors in must not be There is a cluster.

“With less than 50% of the population having a full vaccination schedule, we stress the importance of the permissibility of vaccination as a public policy to encourage vaccination and collective protection, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining other measures, such as the use of masks, hand hygiene and physical and social distance. Bringing this group together is a Measures are fundamental for us to have a prudent process of resuming activities, as in Singapore, which is an exemplary country in the fight against the epidemic,” says the post today in a text message by Fiocruz.

The researchers noted that Singapore was right at various points in the epidemic, from screening suspected cases to combining vaccination with other strategies. Although more than 80% of the population was fully vaccinated, the Asian country re-recorded an increase in cases and hospitalizations in September and responded with new restrictive and isolation measures. “The country’s current strategy is to review its restrictions and make adjustments according to the epidemiological situation, taking into account the need to use masks, limit travel and physical and social distance until 2024.”

The cautious management of the epidemic in Singapore contrasts with the example of England, which was initially marked by rapid vaccination, but decided to suspend all other restrictive measures simultaneously, when only 54% of the population had a full vaccination schedule. The researchers analyze that “there are currently more than 500 deaths in the country and between 150 thousand and 200 thousand confirmed cases of Covid-19 virus per week, many of which are likely to lead to the spread of the Corona virus for a long time.”

“The examples of Singapore and England give us some evidence that working with the vaccine as an isolated strategy is not the most appropriate, and the large numbers of deaths and cases recorded weekly in England should not be naturalized. Trials from other countries are already coming. This indicates that successful control of the epidemic at this point is The new ones require, in addition to the higher vaccination coverage, the combination of other measures.”

Reducing cases and deaths

Indicators of pandemic surveillance in Brazil have been declining steadily since July, due in large part to the increase in the number of vaccines. Vuecruz highlights that the proportion of positive tests, the incidence of new cases, the occupancy of beds in the intensive care unit (ICU), and mortality rates are declining.

Despite this, Vuecruz shows that the bearish movement is starting to lose speed. In August and September, there was an average decrease of 2% in cases and deaths per day, while in late September and early October the rate of daily decrease was 0.5% for cases and 1.2% for deaths.

According to the Fioruz prospectus, transmission rates of SARS-CoV-2 remain high in the country, which makes it necessary to continue increasing vaccination coverage for different groups, along with active tracing for a second dose and expansion of the booster dose for vulnerable groups.

Admissions of adults with covid-19 to intensive care units are outside the alert zone in 25 states, where the occupancy rate does not exceed 60%. The exceptions are the Federal District, which is in the Critical Alert Zone (89%) due to the reduced number of beds, and Espirito Santo, which is still in the Medium Alert Zone (65%).