Brazil Passes 400,000 Deaths Amid Slow Vaccination and Accusations Against

MARICA, BRAZIL - APRIL 30: Members of the medical staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) pose for a photo at the Doctor Ernesto Che Guevara Public Hospital where patients infected with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, are being treated on April 30, 2021 in Maricá, Brazil. The hospital completes 1 year of activities tomorrow, date that celebrates the day of the worker. While Brazil surpasses 400,000 dead since the beginning of the pandemic, the small seaside town of Maricá seems to be implementing a successful strategy to contain the virus. With revenues from the oil industry, Maricá has invested in social programs, health care, education and a universal basic income which allowed its 162,000 inhabitants to stay afloat and fight the pandemic. Apart from the doses provided by the federal government of Bolsonaro, the socialist-ruled town of Maricá and surrounding counties joined forces to buy 500,000 shots of Sputnik V vaccine from Russia. Maricá, a dormitory city located at 60 km away from Rio de Janeiro, has also developed its own virtual currency called mumbucas and bought its own refrigerators to storage vaccines at required temperature. (Footage by Sergio Alves/Getty Images)