Five years of the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

We have completed five years since the first case of COVID in Brazil, a disease that would go on to kill more than 700,000 Brazilians, of which a little less than ten thousand in Rio Grande do Norte alone.

The fight against the pandemic resulted in work, intelligence, sacrifices and heroism from many and there is, therefore, a memory to be recovered to honor the page of struggles, defeats and finally victory that made the recent history of Brazil and Rio Grande do Norte.

Let us record the hundreds of ICU beds opened during Dr. Cipriano Maia's administration that were the difference between life and death for thousands of people from Rio Grande do Norte, for the health professionals who gave their best, which for many included their own lives in the fight against the pandemic.

Let us remember the work of the scientific committee created by the State Department of Public Health from the very beginning of the epidemic in Rio Grande do Norte and the efforts to build a consensus capable of protecting lives, operating in the adversity of denialism...

And finally, we must remember all those who were lost on this battlefield, relatives, friends, people close to each one of us...

This issue begins to bring to the fore this fundamental discussion for our collective learning on how we can better prepare for a new pandemic that is, as we know, a cyclical phenomenon that has accompanied humanity for a long time.

From the operational front, from the largest hospital in the state for infectious diseases, the Giselda Trigueiro Hospital, the work brings an interview with Dr. André Prudente, general director of the aforementioned hospital, who brings us the memory of these challenging times. And from the scientific front, an interview with Lucas Martorelli Gondim Luz, who brings us the content of his doctoral thesis on the subject.

COVID is more than a disease controlled by vaccination; it is a milestone in the history of Public Health in Brazil and in Rio Grande do Norte, a major event whose study will allow us to see the immense importance of the SUS and what it demands of us in terms of improvements and enhancements.

An excellent read to all.