Brazil virus death toll surpasses 80,000
The figure, second only to the death toll in the United States, quadrupled in two months.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Brazil s coronavirus death toll surpassed 80,000 Monday, according to health ministry figures, as the country hit second-hardest in the world continued struggling to control the pandemic.
The figure, second only to the death toll in the United States, quadrupled in two months. Brazil passed the mark of 20,000 COVID-19 deaths on May 21.
Recently, the Latin American country of 212 million people has regularly registered more than 1,000 new deaths a day -- though the figure for Monday was lower, at 632, bringing its overall death toll to 80,120.
The country has confirmed 2.1 million total infections.
Experts say under-testing means the real numbers are probably much higher.
President Jair Bolsonaro, who is infected himself, faces criticism for downplaying the virus and urging state governors to reopen their economies despite health officials recommendations.
The far-right leader is currently in quarantine, along with several infected members of his cabinet. But he previously defied state authorities stay-at-home measures, whose economic impact he argues could be more damaging than the virus itself.
Bolsonaro, who famously compared the virus to a "little flu," regularly hit the streets with no face mask until he got infected, shaking hands and taking pictures with supporters at rallies.
Like US President Donald Trump, whom he admires, Bolsonaro, 65, touts the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as promising treatments, and is taking the latter himself, despite a lack of evidence of their effectiveness against COVID-19.
The World Health Organization said Friday the outbreak in Brazil appears to have finally reached a plateau.
There is "an opportunity here now for Brazil... to suppress the transmission of the virus," said WHO health emergencies chief Michael Ryan, urging the country to "take control."
But though the level of daily deaths and infections has stabilized, it remains high.
On average, Brazil has registered more than 1,040 new deaths and 33,000 new infections a day over the past week.
"The WHO talks about a plateau... but the problem is, the level remains very high, and it looks set to stay that way for quite some time," said Mauro Sanchez, an epidemiologist at the University of Brasilia.
Gaining control "will depend on what we do in terms of public policy, and on whether people follow it," he told AFP.
Only the United States has more infections and deaths than Brazil in the pandemic, with 3.8 million and 140,811, respectively.
- Brazil set to test Chinese coronavirus vaccine -
Brazil will begin advanced clinical testing of a Chinese-made vaccine against the new coronavirus Tuesday, issuing the first doses to around 900 volunteers, officials said.
The coronavirus vaccine, developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, is the third in the world to enter Phase 3 trials, or large-scale testing on humans -- the last step before regulatory approval.
It will be administered to doctors and other health workers who volunteer for the program across six states in Brazil, one of the countries hit hardest by the pandemic.
"Trials of CoronaVac, one of the vaccines that has advanced furthest in testing in the world, will begin at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paulo," the state s governor, Joao Doria, told a news conference.
He said initial results were expected within 90 days.
Sinovac is partnering with a Brazilian public health research center, the Butantan Institute, on the trials.
If the vaccine proves safe and effective, the institute will have the right to produce 120 million doses under the deal, according to officials.
"In Brazil, we could have the first vaccine to be put to widespread use, which is very, very promising," said the head of the Butantan Institute, Dimas Covas.
Brazil is the second-hardest-hit country in the coronavirus pandemic, after the United States.
Its death toll surpassed 80,000 on Monday, and it has registered 2.1 million infections.
Those grim figures make it an ideal testing ground for potential vaccines, since the virus is still spreading quickly.
Brazil is also helping carry out Phase 3 testing of another experimental vaccine, developed by Oxford University in Britain and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
Another vaccine, developed by state-owned Chinese company Sinopharm, also entered Phase 3 trials this month in the United Arab Emirates.
They are the three most advanced of the dozens of projects worldwide by scientists racing to develop and test a vaccine against the new virus.
A fourth, existing vaccine against tuberculosis is also in Phase 3 trials in Australia as a potential coronavirus immunization.
