Brazil records highest rolling average of Covid-19 deaths since start of pandemic

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Sunday, Brazil recorded a rolling average of 1,105 deaths from Covid-19, an increase of 4% over 14 days ago. The mark is evidence that the pandemic is strongly spreading across the country. A total of 647 new deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 239,294 since the pandemic began.

The data was released by the media consortium report, an initiative comprising O GLOBO, Extra, G1, Folha de S. Paulo, UOL, and O Estado de S. Paulo. The consortium collects data from the state health secretariats published daily up to 8 PM.

A total of 22,440 new infections were also registered in the past 24 hours – reaching 9,833,695 since the start of the pandemic. The rolling average of infections recorded in the report reached 44,494, 13% lower than 14 days ago.

The “7-day rolling average” is the average between the daily figure and that of the previous six days. It is compared with the average of two weeks ago to determine if there is an upward, stable, or downward trend in cases or deaths. The calculation is a statistical tool used to monitor the trend while offsetting weekends’ figures, often lower as a result of a shortage of on-duty staff.

Thirteen states on Sunday released new vaccination data. To date, 5,072,729 people have received the first dose of a vaccine in the country, equivalent to 2.4% of the Brazilian population.

The second dose of the vaccine, in turn, has been administered to 214,943 people, representing 0.1% of the country’s population.

On Saturday, the São Paulo City Hall announced that the Manaus strain of the coronavirus is now circulating in the city. The new strain was detected in a resident of the capital who had not been in Amazonas. The patient presented mild flu-like symptoms and did not require hospitalization.

The municipal health secretariat has alerted the population about the higher transmissibility of this strain and advised to immediately seek the São Paulo health services in case of any symptoms of the disease – cough, fever, headache, among others.

Europe expedites vaccination

The European Union will expedite approvals of Covid-19 vaccines adapted to fight coronavirus mutations, the bloc’s Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, said on Sunday.

“We have decided that a vaccine that has been enhanced by the manufacturer based on the previous vaccine to fight new mutations no longer needs to undergo the whole approval process. It will therefore be faster to have suitable vaccines available without compromising safety,” she told the German newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine.

Some coronavirus mutations are of concern because they could increase transmission capacity and impact the efficacy of immunizers. British government scientists said on Saturday that the B.1.1.7 variant, detected in the UK, is probably more deadly than the original virus.

Meanwhile, the British government announced that it has exceeded its target of vaccinating nearly 15 million of its most vulnerable citizens against Covid-19 before the February 15th deadline, setting a record for one of the world’s most successful immunization programs. The success of this measure paves the way for easing the lockdown that has closed most companies and schools.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson set the target earlier this year with the goal of immunizing everyone over the age of 70, along with those living or working in nursing homes, healthcare workers, and those who are most vulnerable to Covid-19. These groups are estimated to account for approximately 88% of deaths from the disease in the UK.