49.7 Overall Score (up 7.4 since Aug 1st.)

Brazil

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63.4 Public Health
Directives
44 Financial
Response
64 Fact-Based
Communication

63.4 Public Health
Directives
44 Financial
Response
64 Fact-Based
Communication

Brazil has a relatively weak score, primarily due to its poor public health policies, especially its very low levels of testing, coupled with President Bolsonaro’s spreading of misinformation about the virus.

Pre-COVID Conditions

Despite relatively wide access to healthcare services, Brazil’s low GDP per capita, substantial inequality, and lack of hospital beds have presented barriers to its pandemic strategy.

Debt/GDP ratio 87%
GDP/capita $17,016
Gini coefficient (out of 100) 53.9
Infant mortality rate (out of 1,000 live births) 13
Healthcare access score (out of 100) 64.9
Hospital beds/1,000 People 15.3

Government Response

Select a data point for more information
(Data points represent policy level as of Jan 1.)

63.4

Public Health Directives

Brazil has a relatively strong public health policy score, buoyed by strong restrictions on public gatherings, although it has low testing levels and a lax lockdown.

Stay at home order 2
Public gathering restrictions 4
School closings 2
Public event cancellations 2
Testing policy 2
Emergency healthcare investments/capita $49.83
Travel restrictions 1
Tests/1,000 people 30.2
Contact tracing 2

Financial Response

Brazil’s financial response scores near the median, with little income support and a minimal stimulus package; even with the government authorizing a monthly $102 payment for informal workers, many were unable to receive the funds.

Financial stimulus as share of GDP 12%
Income support 1
Debt forebearance 1

Fact-Based Communication

President Bolsonaro has perpetuated misinformation about the coronavirus, including comparing it to a "mild flu" and claiming that social distancing and mask-wearing are not effective, but Brazil has not limited press freedom with respect to COVID-19.

Reliance on science/fact based information 3
Press freedom 0

COVID-19 Status as of Jan 1

Brazil has one of the highest rates of coronavirus cases, likely due to negligible health directives, poor public health response, and weak capacity before the virus hit.

Total deaths 195,411
Death rate per 100K 919.3
Total cases 7,700,578
Cases per 100K 36,228
Percent of positive tests NO DATA

Daily cases Level 1 Lockdown Level 2 Lockdown Level 3 Lockdown

	Date	Status	New Cases/1M
1	Jun 10	Businesses start reopening in São Paulo	126.62
2	Jun 11	Malls start reopening in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro	126.28

Differentiating Factors

Brazil unveils COVID-19 vaccination plan: The Brazilian government released its national vaccination plan, aiming to vaccinate 51 million people in the first half of 2021. Vaccination priority will be given to vulnerable groups, including healthcare workers, elderly people, and indigenous communities. Read More
Brazil's vaccination plan relies on AstraZeneca vaccine: In June 2020, Brazil made a $371 million bet on AstraZeneca's vaccine, developed in collaboration with Oxford University. AstraZeneca's vaccine was previously the world's frontrunner, but with Pfizer's vaccine now being widely adopted by the U.S. and the U.K., Brazil is under pressure to release a plan to secure doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Read More
Jair Bolsonaro states that he will not take COVID-19 vaccine: The Brazilian president clarified that "there's nothing to worry about" taking the vaccine and that it would be safe and available for free to the public. However, he also affirmed that it was his right not to take the vaccine and referred to masks as the "last taboo to fall." Read More
Brazilian study concludes that China's Sinovac is 78 percent effective: The study included more than 12,000 health workers, and led the government of the state of Sao Paulo to state that it will ask Brazil's federal health regulators for emergency approval to begin using it. Read More
Brazil allocates millions for emergency relief: The government will provide 65 million citizens with emergency relief, allocating more than $100 million for health-related actions and to help small businesses. Brazil has also dedicated $400 million towards vaccine research and entered into a vaccine alliance with Argentina. Read More
COVID-19 revealing systemic inequality in Brazil: The first recorded coronavirus death in Brazil was a Black domestic worker, with COVID-19 exposing deep racial and economic inequality in the country and disproportionately impacting the poor, who often live in crowded conditions without running water and poor sanitation. Read More
Favelas hit exceptionally hard: Informal employment and overcrowding have hindered low-income Brazilians' ability to socially distance. In Rio, COVID-19 patients in the favelas are dying at three times the rate of patients from the city's wealthiest district. Read More

Compared with Other Western Hemisphere Countries

85.3
Argentina 1,629,594
Cases 36,056
Per 1M 43,319
Deaths

Argentina’s strong policy score is mainly due to its strong political response, characterized by clear, fact-based communication and regular press briefings by President Fernandez.
49.7
Brazil 7,700,578
Cases 36,228
Per 1M 195,411
Deaths

Brazil has a relatively weak score, primarily due to its poor public health policies, especially its very low levels of testing, coupled with President Bolsonaro’s spreading of misinformation about the virus.
59.2
Canada 585,400
Cases 15,511
Per 1M 15,644
Deaths

Canada has a relatively strong score, with poor public health policy countered by a continued reliance on fact-based communication.
36.2
United States 20,184,236
Cases 60,979
Per 1M 347,901
Deaths

Still battling widespread COVID-19 cases and deaths, which were exacerbated by the former administration's limited use of facts and science, limited emergency healthcare spending, and limited debt relief, the Biden administration, by contrast, is taking aggressive action to combat the virus, although it may take time for the score to reflect these changes.

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Statistics and government response factors available on each country profile include:

Pre-COVID Conditions:

Debt to GDP ratio
Infant mortality rates
Hospital beds per 1,000 people
Gini coefficients measuring inequality
Health access and quality

COVID-19 Public Health Directives:

Stay-at home orders
School-closing policy
Public-gathering restrictions
Cancellation of public events
Testing policy and rates per 1,000 people
Emergency healthcare spending per capita
Travel restrictions
Contact tracing

COVID-19 Financial Response:

Stimulus package as a share of GDP
Income support
Debt-forbearance

Public Communications:

Instances of misinformation by leadership
Limitations on press freedom, censorship

Current/Historic In-Country COVID-19 Status:

Death rates per 1 million
Case rates per 1 million