Government releases resources to treat post-Covid symptoms in SUS

Two decrees allocating funds for the care of Covid-19 patients in municipal primary health care networks were signed on Wednesday (16) by the Ministry of Health.

One of them allocated 160 million Brazilian reals to treat post-coronavirus symptoms. The second decree transfers R$263 million into 2,100 anti-Covid-19 service centers and 82 community centers in 21 municipalities.

Fatigue, shortness of breath, cough, chest pain, loss of sense of smell and taste, headache, dizziness, changes in memory, anxiety and depression, according to the Ministry of Health, are among the most important symptoms experienced by patients recovering from Covid-19.

The Minister of Health, Marcelo Quiroga, announces measures for the care of people with post-Covid-19 illnesses. – Marcelo Camargo / Agencia Brazil

The data presented in the volume indicate that 30% to 75% of patients who contracted covid-19 developed these symptoms after encountering the disease.

160 million Rls will be transferred to the municipalities and the Federal District. With this resource, local managers will be able to hire new professionals, build therapy spaces and purchase materials.

By decree, each municipality will be framed in a priority category: high, medium or low. The index takes into account the number of teams, the social vulnerability index, the size of the population, and the death rate from the coronavirus.

Brazil today has this answer and is in a position to allocate these resources to states and municipalities. “During the pandemic, in 2020 and 2021, we have increased the budget of the Ministry of Health by R$100 billion in the form of exceptional credits,” Minister Marcelo Quiroga confirmed.

Quiroga also assessed that Brazil performed better in this new wave of disease with respect to the wave caused by the gamma variable.

We have already seen a stabilization in the number of states of the micron variant with a decreasing trend. The moving average of cases is still 800 cases per day. We don’t want this average, but if we remember the gamma variable, there have been days with more than 3000 cases with a moving average. We have come a long way without a doubt. Our health system has provided the answers, both in primary care and in specialist care. We have not seen, as in other waves, a breakdown in the health system and this is due to the strengthening of the unified health system during the COVID-19 pandemic.”