WASHINGTON, June 1 (NNN-Xinhua) — The United States has delivered 2 million doses of hydroxychloroquine to Brazil, the two governments announced, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) halted the anti-malaria drug’s clinical trials over safety concerns.
“The United States will also soon be sending 1,000 ventilators to Brazil,” added a joint statement released by the White House.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said recently that a clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine on COVID-19 patients came to “a temporary pause” while the safety data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board.
The medical journal The Lancet has published an observational study on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, in which the authors of the study reported that among patients receiving either of the drugs, when used alone or with a macrolide, they estimated a higher mortality rate.
The American and Brazilian people stand in solidarity in the fight against the coronavirus, the statement said.
“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 Brazils nurses, doctors and healthcare professionals against the virus. It will also be used as a therapeutic to treat Brazilians who become infected,” it said.
The two countries will also conduct a joint research effort that will include randomized controlled clinical trials, the statement said.
Brazil reported a record 33,274 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Saturday, its Health Ministry said, and the death toll surpassed that of France and now ranks only below the United States, Britain and Italy.
Demand for the decades-old hydroxychloroquine has surged as Trump repeatedly promoted its use against the coronavirus despite a lack of scientific evidence.
