MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rio de Janeiro riddled with cases of Delta variant in Brazil

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes announced vaccination of 24-yeal-olds cannot go on due to shortage of drugs

According to data released Wednesday, Rio de Janeiro accounts for 36% of all coronavirus Delta variant detections in Brazil, making it the epicenter of that particular strain nationwide.

 Of the 570 Delta infections reported so far, 206 were in Rio, Ministry of Health said after genetic comparison tests, while 36 of them have resulted in deaths.

This variant, which was first detected in India is said to be the most contagious of the coronavirus, according to experts.

São Paulo came in second with 96 cases, followed by Brasilia (75), Río Grande do Sul (64), Paraná (54), Santa Catarina (34) and Goiás (10).

The situation in the State of Rio de Janeiro has set off alarms because more than half of the cases were found in the actual city of Rio, where vaccination needed to stop due to lack of immunizers.

Rio de Janeiro City Mayor Eduardo Paes announced the campaign would not resume Thursday. City Hall authorities have been requesting the federal Health Ministry to send additional doses in order to “avoid a catastrophe” since last week but to no avail, it was reported.

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) Wednesday reported that occupancy of ICU beds in Rio de Janeiro was at 97% and has been at similar levels for weeks.

With more than 564,000 deaths and 20.2 million infections, Brazil is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic. According to official data, 51% of the population has already received the first dose of vaccine and 21% have taken the full cycle.

“This morning we only received 37,962 doses. To vaccinate the 24-year-old group, we need 68,000. We are not going to use our second dose stock. With that, we will suspend vaccination of the first dose of tomorrow [Thursday]”, posted Paes on social media. “Just remembering: Rio has many cases of delta, and the Ministry's stock is 11.2 million doses.”

Paes also suggested São Paulo Governor João Doria (PSDB) delivered of CoronaVac doses “without intermediaries”. Paes wrote: “João Doria, there's no way to send doses directly from CoronaVac here, right? Without intermediaries, how are you doing with the City Hall of São Paulo?”

Doria replied that the lack of vaccines was due to the “incompetence of the federal government” and that the city of São Paulo followed the rules of the National Immunization Plan.

Rio only carries out a recap of the first dose for cariocas aged 50 or over, people with disabilities, pregnant women, postpartum women and nursing mothers aged 18 or over. The second dose is guaranteed for everyone who is on schedule.

“Despite the interruption of the calendar due to age due to lack of sending doses, we continue vaccinating in the recap of the 50+ and comorbidities, in addition to the 2nd dose. We reached 84% of adults with the 1st and almost 38% with the 2nd! We need vaccine for keep advancing, contain Delta and save lives!” said Paes.

According to the city, the current supply is insufficient to vaccinate all 24-year-olds.