The United States is sending two million doses of hydroxychloroquine and 1,000 ventilators to Brazil in an effort to help it deal with the coronavirus crisis, the White House announced on Sunday, The Hill reported.
In a joint statement with the Brazilian government, the White House said that hydroxychloroquine will be used as a preventive treatment primarily for health-care professionals in the South American country, although civilians there who contract the virus will also be allowed to use the drug.
The U.S. and Brazil, which has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus over the past month, will also conduct joint research to test the drug’s use as a preventive measure and early treatment of COVID-19.
Despite it being unproven to be effective against coronavirus and the warnings of health experts of its potential side effects, Trump has been pushing for hydroxychloroquine’s use and even announced earlier this month that he was taking it himself to prevent coronavirus.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has also been an advocate for the use of hydroxychloroquine against the coronavirus, which has caused friction with previous health ministers in his administration, according to Newsweek.
Last week Brazil announced that it would continue advising hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus patients, even though the World Health Organization halted the trial of the drug due to safety concerns.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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