PERFORMANCE OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH IN ADDRESSING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil in February 2020, the federal government has chosen to follow a different path than what scientific investigations indicated to act in the fight against the disease. This work aimed to present the main events and the performance of the direction of the ministry of health, in its relationship with the Presidency of the Republic, in the face of the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil. Was made an integrative review of information published on national news portals, organized chronologically and based on the performance of each of the ministers of health. A series of misguided, unfounded and denialist measures fostered by the Presidency were identified: rotation of ministers of health; weakening of Primary Health Care; weakening of inter-federative relations; slowness in the importance process; neglect of science; ineptitude in the strategy of testing and distribution of inputs; militarization of health; opacity of health information; corruption cases; among others. The main result of this performance is evidenced in the elevated statistics of cases and deaths by covid-19, and confirms the fact that there is a state racism policy in Brazil, linked to the dismantling and unfunding of the Unified Health System.