Universidade de Brasília (UnB), Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Universidade Estadual do Rio Grande do Norte (UERN), Mossoró, RN, Brazil.
Health Res Policy Syst. 2021 Jan 21;19(1):10. doi: 10.1186/s12961-020-00674-x.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has spread throughout more than 160 countries, infecting millions of people worldwide. To address this health emergency, countries have organized the flow of production and innovation to reduce the impact on health. This article shows the response of the Brazilian scientific community to meet the urgent needs of the public unified health system [SUS], aiming to guarantee universal access to an estimated population of 211 million. By December 2020, Brazil had recorded more than six million cases and approximately 175,000 deaths.
We collected data on research, development and innovation projects carried out by 114 public universities (plus Oswaldo Cruz Foundation [Fiocruz] and Butantan Institute), as reported on their websites. Additionally, we examined the studies on COVID-19 approved by the National Comission for Research Ethics, as well as those reported on the Ministry of Education website as of May 15, 2020.
The 789 identified projects were classified according to research categories as follows: development and innovation (n = 280), other types of projects (n = 226), epidemiologic research (n = 211), and basic research on disease mechanisms (n = 72). Most proposals focused on the development and innovation of personal protective equipment, medical devices, diagnostic tests, medicines and vaccines, which were rapidly identified as research priorities by the scientific community. Some promising results have been observed from phase III vaccine trials, one of which is conducted in partnership with Oxford University and another of which is performed with Sinovac Biotech. Both trials involve thousands of volunteers in their Brazilian arms and include technology transfer agreements with Fiocruz and the Butantan Institute, respectively. These vaccines proved to be safe and effective and were immediately licensed for emergency use. The provision of doses for the public health system, and vaccination, started on January 17, 2021.
The mobilized Brazilian scientific community has generated comprehensive research, development and innovation proposals to meet the most urgent needs. It is important to emphasize that this response was only possible due to decades of investment in research, development and innovation in Brazil. We need to reinforce and protect the Brazilian science, technology and innovation system from austerity policies that disregard health and knowledge as crucial investments for Brazilian society, in line with the constitutional right of universal health access and universal health coverage.
2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）疫情已在 160 多个国家蔓延，造成全球数百万人感染。为应对这一卫生紧急情况，各国组织了生产和创新的流动，以减轻对卫生的影响。本文展示了巴西科学界为满足统一公共卫生系统[SUS]的紧急需求而做出的反应，旨在确保约 2.11 亿人口普遍获得估计的人口。到 2020 年 12 月，巴西记录了超过 600 万例病例和约 17.5 万人死亡。
我们收集了 114 所公立大学（加上奥斯瓦尔多·克鲁兹基金会[Fiocruz]和布坦坦研究所）在其网站上报告的研究、开发和创新项目的数据。此外，我们还审查了国家研究伦理委员会批准的 COVID-19 研究，以及 2020 年 5 月 15 日在教育部网站上报告的研究。
确定的 789 个项目根据研究类别进行了分类，如下所示：开发和创新（n=280）、其他类型的项目（n=226）、流行病学研究（n=211）和疾病机制基础研究（n=72）。大多数提案都集中在个人防护设备、医疗器械、诊断测试、药物和疫苗的开发和创新上，这些都是科学界迅速确定的研究重点。一些有希望的结果已经从第三阶段疫苗试验中观察到，其中一个试验是与牛津大学合作进行的，另一个是与科兴生物科技合作进行的。这两项试验都在巴西分支机构招募了数千名志愿者，并且分别与 Fiocruz 和布坦坦研究所签订了技术转让协议。这些疫苗被证明是安全有效的，并立即获得了紧急使用许可。2021 年 1 月 17 日，开始向公共卫生系统提供疫苗，并进行接种。
动员起来的巴西科学界已经提出了全面的研究、开发和创新提案，以满足最紧迫的需求。重要的是要强调，这种反应只有在巴西数十年的研究、开发和创新投资的基础上才成为可能。我们需要加强和保护巴西的科学、技术和创新系统，使其免受忽视健康和知识作为巴西社会关键投资的紧缩政策的影响，这符合普遍获得卫生保健和全民健康覆盖的宪法权利。
