The United States has provided Brazil with 2 million doses of hydroxychloroquine for use against the novel coronavirus, the two governments announced on Sunday, prompting medical concerns regarding the anti-malaria drug.
The White House released a joint statement on the drug, which has seen a lot of praise from both the U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, just days after World Health Organisation halted the testing of it with COVID-19 patients due to medical and safety concerns.
Trump himself claimed he was on a hydroxychloroquine treatment as a coronavirus prevention step in mid-May, even though the Food and Drug Administration had given a warning regarding its use for the treatment of COVID-19.
Interest has soared for the decades-old hydroxychloroquine as Trump has consistently advocated its usage against coronavirus amid a shortage of scientific evidence that it helps prevent or treat COVID-19.
The White House statement said:
“The American and Brazilian people stand in solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus,”
“We are announcing the United States Government has delivered two million doses of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to the people of Brazil.”
“HCQ will be used as a prophylactic to help defend Brazil’s nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals against the virus. It will also be used as a therapeutic to treat Brazilians who become infected,”
The Panthera Post 