• Bernardo Galvão-Castro, Maria Fernanda Rios Grassi, Euclides Ayres de Castilho, and Dirceu Bartolomeu Greco.
• Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública, Curso de Medicina, Salvador, BA, Brasil.
• Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz. 2021 Jan 1; 116: e210071.

AbstractIn the space of four decades, Brazil has faced two serious pandemics: human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The country's response to HIV/AIDS was coordinated by several stakeholders and recognised the importance of scientific evidence in guiding decision-making, and a network offering monitoring and antiretroviral treatment was provided through coordinated efforts by the country's universal health system. Conversely, the lack of a centrally coordinated strategy and misalignment between government ministries regarding the COVID-19 pandemic response, together with the denial of scientific evidence, promotion of ineffective treatments and insufficient vaccination efforts, have all led to the uncontrolled spread of infection, the near-total collapse of the health system and excess deaths.

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