As the president has minimized the risks, Professor Pedro Hallal has counted the dead
From the outset of the pandemic, the Brazilian leader has been dismissive of Covid-19, calling it "a little flu." Asked last year about deaths from the virus he replied "that's a question for a grave digger".
He has scorned social distancing, insisting the economy must remain open, and said staying home is "for idiots". Just last month he was fined for not wearing a mask as he led a motorbike rally of his supporters.
As the president has minimized the risks, Professor Pedro Hallal has counted the dead. He is an epidemiologist, leading the largest Covid study in Brazil. As a scientist, and as a Brazilian, he says it has been a waking nightmare.
"At some point in life everyone has that dream in which they can't move, or can't shout," he says. "This is exactly my feeling for these 16 months. I have been trained to understand what is happening in a pandemic and I say that and no one in the government is listening. As we are speaking today another 2,000 Brazilians will die."
Professor Hallal, who has lost several friends, says his country has been a laboratory for everything that could be done wrong in a pandemic. The result, according to his research, is 400,000 deaths that could have been avoided, a quarter of them (100,000) caused by the failure to sign vaccine contracts last year.
"Everything that you should not do," he said "Brazil has done."
A man holds up a sign protesting against the Covid death toll in Brazil
"A genocide": More than half a million Brazilians have died
"It said that the pandemic would not be important. In April last year, our president said it is coming to an end. Then he said the vaccines were not safe. These statements from the president himself produced damage, and they killed people and this is what needs to be said."
Professor Hallal, who has given evidence at the inquiry, has a message for the Brazilian leader. "Just quit your job," he said. "This is the best thing you can do to help Brazil."
There's little likelihood of that, but Jair Bolsonaro is under pressure on several fronts. While the Senate inquiry is not expected to lead to his impeachment, the Supreme Court has authorized a criminal investigation. His approval ratings are at an all-time low and there have been a series of nationwide protests.
If President Bolsonaro is troubled by the gathering storm, or the soaring death toll, he isn't showing it. He has political allies and die-hard supporters.
With so many dead, Cida de Moura struggles to understand how he remains in office. "He is still in power as if nothing has happened," she told us. "He should have been pushed out. I would like to hear that Bolsonaro is not president of Brazil any more."