If the Brazilian government doesn't take immediate action toward the COVID-19 pandemic, the country is headed for an "unimaginable loss of lives," says a team of public health experts.

"In Brazil, the federal response has been a dangerous combination of inaction and wrongdoing, including the promotion of chloroquine as treatment despite a lack of evidence," wrote the team in the journal Science.

Led by Marcia Castro from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public health and including experts from the University of São Paulo, in the published report the team blames inequity and poor management by the Brazilian government on containing the virus and vaccine rollout.

With over 360,000 deaths, Brazil has the second highest death toll globally. And currently, ranks third behind the U.S. and India for confirmed cases, with over 13 million infections.

Some hospitals, such as in the city of Manaus, have faced collapse, with overwhelmed services and not enough beds or supplies for the sick.

24 out of 27 of Brazil’s states and federal district have 80% or more of their intensive care units occupied, based on data from state health secretaries.

Rio de Janeiro saw more deaths than births for the sixth month in a row, according to the national Civil Register.

At least 10 other cities with over half a million people also registered more deaths than births in March.

But epidemiologist Dr. Fatima Marinho from the University of São Paolo, says she's seen more cases of multi-system inflammatory syndrome (MIS) during the pandemic. 

While rare, MIS can happen in children up to six weeks after being infected with COVID-19.

In Brazil, 1,300 babies have died from COVID-19, the BBC reports. 
Experts say Brazil's COVID-19 case load has increased the chances of babies and children getting sick.

Experts say a COVID-19 variant first discovered in Brazil has fueled the virus surge in the country.
Called the P1 variant, it can be 2.5 times more contagious than the original virus and resistant to antibodies, according to research from the public health institute Fiocruz.

Experts also worry, as the virus continues to spread, more mutations could come. 

"The pandemic being out of control in Brazil caused the variant. And it's going to cause more variants. It's going to cause more mutations because this is what happens when you let the virus replicate freely," Natalia Pasternak, a Brazilian microbiologist, told CNN.

Pasternak also says Brazil won’t see an impact from COVID-19 vaccines until enough are available in the second half of 2021.

The vaccine rollout has been slow in Brazil. They've been in short supply as the country faces delays in deliveries and production.

Some Brazilian states and cities are easing COVID-19 restrictions despite the high number of cases and deaths.

President Jair Bolsonaro has also said the country will not go under a national lockdown. 

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