US sending hydroxychloroquine and ventilators to Brazil
The United States has delivered 2 million doses of hydroxychloroquine and will soon send 1,000 ventilators to Brazil, according to a joint statement from both countries.
The statement reads in part, "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."
This comes after the World Health Organization announced it has temporarily halted studying hydroxychloroquine as a potential Covid-19 treatment due to safety concerns. The decision was made after an observational study published in the medical journal The Lancet described how seriously ill Covid-19 patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine were more likely to die.
The US Food and Drug Administration has warned against the use of hydroxychloroquine outside of clinical trials and that there are currently no published studies on using the drug as a prophylaxis, or preventative treatment.
The statement also announces the formation of a joint research effort to help combat coronavirus in the two countries.
"Further, in continuation of the two countries' longstanding collaboration on health issues, we are also announcing a joint United States-Brazilian research effort that will include randomized controlled clinical trials.”
The US and Brazil are the two countries with the highest confirmed number of coronavirus cases worldwide.
