The city of Manaus, in northwestern Brazil, believed it had achieved collective immunity. But the appearance of new variants sweeps away this illusion. After a very deadly first wave, the capital of Amazonas is once again shaken by covid-19.
A chaotic situation in Manaus
Several studies have estimated that 76% of the inhabitants of Manaus had been infected with covid-19 during the first wave and therefore had antibodies. The images of giant cemeteries quickly dug into the red earth to bury thousands of people had moved the world. They are circulating again in the media and the capital of Amazonas has already recorded more than 3,000 deaths in January, the deadliest since the start of the epidemic. They thought the worst was behind them. However, the most populous city in the Amazon (2.2 million inhabitants) is now facing a new outbreak of the epidemic. Hospitals are again saturated and short of oxygen, deaths are increasing. The inhabitants of Manaus are forced to have to obtain oxygen cylinders on their own. Concretely, we say that collective immunity is reached when the virus can no longer circulate in the population since the majority of people are already immune, either because they have already contracted the disease, or because they have been vaccinated. Regarding SARS-CoV-2, scientists estimate that 65% of the population would have to be immune for it to be reached.
Vaccination, the only cure for covid-19
The vaccination campaign has barely started in Brazil when it is already experiencing hiccups. Lack of doses, syringes … health professionals warn about the consequences of these delivery delays. For now, vaccination is reserved for priority audiences. “If these products do not arrive, we will have to interrupt” the vaccination campaign, fears the vice-president of the Brazilian Society of Immunology (SBIM), Isabella Ballalai. Recall that the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro had minimized the severity of covid-19. Today, he questions the effectiveness of vaccines.
