Skip to main content

US sends 2 million doses of unproven virus drug to Brazil

NewsColony
US sends 2 million doses of unproven virus drug to Brazil

Donald Trump wearing a suit and tie standing in front of a flag: US President Donald Trump speaks with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US in March © Jim WATSON US President Donald Trump speaks with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro during a dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, US in March

The United States has delivered two million doses of the antimalarial medicine hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to Brazil to fight COVID-19, the White House said Sunday, though the drug has not been proven effective against the coronavirus.

“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,” a statement said.

It said the US would soon also send 1,000 ventilators to Brazil, the epicenter of South America’s outbreak with nearly 500,000 confirmed cases.

“We are also announcing a joint United States-Brazilian research effort that will include randomized controlled clinical trials,” it added.

President Donald Trump is an outspoken fan of HCQ, which has been used to treat malaria for decades as well as the autoimmune disorders lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

He has previously said he is taking it himself in the hope of avoiding infection with the virus.

There is currently no evidence from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) — considered the gold standard of clinical investigation — for HCQ’s use either to treat or prevent COVID-19.

There are also fears that it may in fact worsen coronavirus patient’s outcomes.

A paper published in The Lancet last week concluded that treating people who have Covid-19 with hydroxychloroquine and a related compound chloroquine did not help them and might have increased the risk of abnormal heart rhythms and death.

The study was not an RCT, and more than 100 clinicians and scientists have since questioned the authenticity of a hospital database it relied on to reach its conclusions.

HCQ has been granted an emergency use authorization for COVID-19 in the US for patients under close heart monitoring.

The Food and Drug Administration has asked doctors not to prescribe it widely or outside of several clinical trials that are underway.

Like Trump, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is an advocate of HCQ and has sacked two health ministers who clashed with him over his desire to expand its use. 

Despite losing nearly 30,000 people to the virus, Bolsonaro has railed against the “tyranny” of lockdowns and called for the country’s soccer season to resume.

The US has lost more than 106,000 people to the virus, by far the country with the highest number of deaths. 

The World Health Organization said last week it was temporarily halting testing of the HCQ for COVID-19 over growing safety concerns, including those raised in The Lancet paper.

ia/bgs

Source: MSN

The post US sends 2 million doses of unproven virus drug to Brazil appeared first on NewsColony.
NewsColony



source https://newscolony.com/us-sends-2-million-doses-of-unproven-virus-drug-to-brazil/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Volunteers book hotel room for homeless man with SingapoRediscovers vouchers

NewsColony Volunteers book hotel room for homeless man with SingapoRediscovers vouchers © The Independent Singapore Singapore — A group of volunteers from the Mummy Yummy Singapore welfare organisation donated their SingapoRediscovers Vouchers to book a hotel room for a homeless man. The man, who was identified as Jayden, did not have a place to live while waiting for the Housing Board (HDB) to allocate him a rental flat. In a Facebook post on Mummy Yummy Singapore’s page on Wednesday (Dec 16), the volunteers said: “We used our $100 Rediscover Singapore vouchers to redeem hotel stay for him and successfully booked 9 days worth of stay at 3 days per voucher.” They added that they were unable to book a longer stay because of higher hotel rates over Christmas and New Year. The volunteers hoped that they would be able to bridge Jayden’s stay until he got a flat. “Thanks our government for giving us these vouchers which in return we can put them to good use for people in need,” th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Disabled people are still vulnerable, even as COVID-19 normalizes their ‘special’ needs

Disabled people are still vulnerable, even as COVID-19 normalizes their ‘special’ needs NewsColony Perhaps it’s appropriate that public notices of the COVID-19 crisis began as an ableist cruelty. Health officials assured the nation that only the elderly and those with chronic health conditions would be seriously affected; most Americans (i.e., the normal people) would have only mild symptoms and be fine. x A friendly reminder: people who will be high-risk patients if we get coronavirus can hear you when you reassure everyone we’re the only ones who might die. — Alexandra Brodsky (@azbrodsky) February 29, 2020 Soon after the announcement of those assurances, the likelihood of high-risk people surviving was further limited by the people more likely to be fine. Shopping frenzies cleared stores of essential supplies needed everyday by many disabled people, like thermometers, hand wipes, masks, and IV infusion supplies. Accustomed to their needs ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Coronavirus UK: BBC makes changes to ‘lift people’s spirits’

Coronavirus UK: BBC makes changes to ‘lift people’s spirits’ NewsColony BBC viewers have been warned that ‘things will look and sound a bit different’ during the coronavirus crisis.  In a blog post on the corporation’s website, BBC News Chief Fran Unsworth outlined a number of changes its newsroom was making in light of the ‘rapidly evolving situation’.   Among the changes, presenters will doing their own make-up, many interviews will be conducted remotely and the BBC will rely more on its network of local reporters, Ms Unsworth explained. TV veterans Mr Motivator and Angela Rippon have also signed up for a new BBC One show to lift people’s spirits during the pandemic. HealthCheck UK Live, with Watchdog’s Michelle Ackerley and CBBC star Dr Xand van Tulleken will air every weekday for two weeks. TV veterans Mr Motivator and Angela Rippon have also signed up for a new BBC One show to lift people’s spirits during the pandemic HealthCheck UK Live, with Wa...
Post a Comment
Read more