Coronavirus: the United States sends 2 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to Brazil

Its use to treat Covid-19 is still controversial. But the United States has sent Brazil two million doses of hydroxychloroquine, the White House announced on Sunday.

“The American and Brazilian peoples are united in the fight against the coronavirus. Today, as proof of this solidarity, we are announcing that the American government has delivered two million doses of hydroxychloroquine to the people of Brazil, "the American executive said in a press release.

Preventively for caregivers

Hydroxychloroquine "will be used preventively to help defend nurses, doctors and health professionals from the virus." It will also be used as a treatment to treat infected Brazilians, ”he added.

US President Donald Trump, who displays his closeness to the Brazilian head of state Jair Bolsonaro, had himself surprised ten days ago by announcing that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive against coronavirus, in disregard of the recommendations of the American health authorities.

Collaboration in clinical trials

The White House also said on Sunday that the two countries will collaborate in research by conducting randomized clinical trials, "to help further assess the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine preventively and as an early treatment for coronavirus ".

The molecule has been used for a long time against malaria but its possible effectiveness against the coronavirus has not, to date, been demonstrated by any rigorous study. Several clinical trials have been suspended worldwide and certain countries, including France, have banned the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19, to the chagrin of its promoters like Professor Didier Raoult.

Crowd for Bolsonaro

In Brazil, which records nearly half a million cases of the new coronavirus, President Jair Bolsonaro once again defied health standards and rules of social distancing this Sunday, by participating in a rally with his supporters.

The head of state, openly against the containment measures, appeared before the presidential palace in Brasilia, greeting dozens of sympathizers who chanted: "myth, myth, myth". While being careful not to touch the hands of his supporters this time, Bolsonaro, surrounded by his bodyguards, carried two children on his shoulders. He then rode a police horse.

Nearly 500,000 cases in Brazil

Brazil, 210 million inhabitants, is the fourth country with the most deaths from the new coronavirus as of Saturday with 28,834 deaths, behind the United States (more than 103,000), the United Kingdom (38,489) and Italy (33,414).

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The Latin American giant will soon exceed 500,000 cases of new coronavirus, the second highest figure in the world after the United States which registers around 2 million infected people.