Ethical repercussions of prescribing the covid kit on indigenous health

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused devastation and deaths in Brazil's indigenous villages. In 2020, government measures focused on the administration of inefficacious medications lacking scientific evidence, counting on “herd immunity” and delaying vaccination. This article discusses the ethical repercussions of providing the so-called “Covid kit” on the indigenous populations of Roraima, from the point of view of doctors and supervisors of the Mais Médicos Program (PMM) who worked in the state in 2020 and 2021. It is part of the Cartography of the Special Supervision Group of the PMM in Roraima that used document analysis, interviews and a conversation circle. The unbridled administration of the Covid kit, the encouragement of the supply of medication by various actors, including non-medical ones, the dissemination of Fake News about vaccines and the neglect of the health of indigenous people showed serious ethical failures to the health of indigenous peoples, especially to the elderly, who carry the cultural heritage and traditions of these peoples.