Resistência e resiliência em tempos de pandemia

Abstract

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License BY CC Resistance and Resilience in the throes of a Pandemic On the day of writing this editorial, more than 80,000 Brazilian families had already lost their loved ones to COVID-19. People of all ages had their life cycles interrupted and, in almost all cases, a dignified farewell was not even possible. Out of respect for these families, nothing can possibly be said about any positive consequences of this pandemic. However, here I write about resistance and resilience in times of a pandemic. And for that, I highlight three concepts that will come out of this pandemic even stronger than when it started, namely science, university and the unified health system. Let's start with science: resilience, because even with the progressive reduction of investments in science and technology in Brazil, our scientists are still involved in research into vaccines, medicines, tests, epidemiological studies, evaluation of health inequalities, among others; resistance, because all this is done at a time when negation and imbecility have become so trivialized, that saying that the earth is flat seems natural. A year ago, in an act of resistance, Universities took to the streets to protest about budgetary cuts that would make their operation impossible. And even being underfunded, having been defamed as a place of "turmoil," the Universities stood firm, and in an act of resilience, daily produce knowledge about COVID-19, and provide encouragement to a population that is justifiably terrified, due to the lack of national leadership that should promote peace, rather than war, among those who think differently. Despite being poorly financed and maligned as much as science and universities, SUS is preventing the tragedy from becoming even greater. In an act of resistance, the system has managed to provide service to all Brazilians with COVID-19 who depend on it. Not all patients are saved, it is true, but unlike what happened in other countries, SUS did not collapse, and it has mitigated a disaster that could have been far more serious. A SUS that, with resilience, attends people, but especially, a SUS composed of resistant and resilient health professionals, who place public health above all difficulties and continue providing care to Brazilians who need it. For the second time in quick succession, Ciência & Saúde Coletiva is publishing a special issue with articles on COVID-19, proving that Brazilian science is not standing idly by. In the same period, the Federal University of Pelotas (UFPel) put EPICOVID19 on the street, which is a project that would normally take a year to plan. It is interesting to make two links between EPICOVID-19 and the origins of the UFPel Epidemiology group. The first is that both the study on infant mortality that gave rise to the 1982 cohort and EPICOVID-19 are inspired by a similar research question: official statistics may not be revealing the real dimension of the problem. In Rio Grande do Sul, six ser...

Health and Science in pandemic times: Narrative review

“…[1] In Brazil, through this current scenario, elementary concepts such as Science, University and Unified Health System (SUS) stand out, which undergo a process of resistance and resilience in times of pandemic. [2] As for Science, with regard to resilience, even with the progressive reduction of investments in science and technology in Brazil, scientists are still involved in research on vaccines, drugs, tests, epidemiological studies, evaluation of health inequalities, among others. Regarding resistance, there is a denial that vaccines can be effective.…”

“…Regarding resistance, there is a denial that vaccines can be effective. [2] Not long ago, in an act of resistance, universities protested against a budgetary blockade that made its operation unfeasible and continued firmly, in an act of resilience, to produce new knowledge about COVID-19 on a daily basis. [2] As underfunded and defamed as Science and Universities, SUS is preventing the tragedy from becoming even greater.…”

“…[2] Not long ago, in an act of resistance, universities protested against a budgetary blockade that made its operation unfeasible and continued firmly, in an act of resilience, to produce new knowledge about COVID-19 on a daily basis. [2] As underfunded and defamed as Science and Universities, SUS is preventing the tragedy from becoming even greater. In an act of resistance, the system has managed to provide assistance to all Brazilians with COVID-19 who depend on it and, with resilience, welcomes people, especially because it is composed of resistant and resilient health professionals, who place collective health above difficulties and continue to provide assistance to Brazilians who need it.…”

“…In an act of resistance, the system has managed to provide assistance to all Brazilians with COVID-19 who depend on it and, with resilience, welcomes people, especially because it is composed of resistant and resilient health professionals, who place collective health above difficulties and continue to provide assistance to Brazilians who need it. [2] One of the critical nodes when it comes to science is vaccine hesitation. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined this behavior as being influenced by a number of factors, including issues of trust (not trusting the vaccine or the supplier), complacency (does not realize the need for a vaccine, does not value the vaccine) and convenience (access).…”