The United States has delivered 2 million doses of controversial anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and will be sending 1,000 ventilators to Brazil amid the CCP virus pandemic, the White House announced May 31.
In a continuation of the two countries’ longstanding collaboration on health issues, the United States and Brazil will also launch a joint research effort, including randomized controlled clinical trials, to test hydroxychloroquine’s safety and efficacy as a preventive measure and early treatment of the virus.
“Going forward, the United States and Brazil will remain in close coordination in the shared fight against the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing regional response to safeguard public health, further limit the spread of the coronavirus, advance the early development of a vaccine, and save lives,” the statement added.
President Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have spoken twice since March, according to the statement, and the two countries are “well-positioned to continue their work together to address the coronavirus pandemic, in addition to other matters of strategic importance.”
The joint statement comes just days after the World Health Organization (WHO) said it is temporarily halting a clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine for treating CCP virus patients, due to health concerns.
“The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the safety data is reviewed,” the WHO chief said at the virtual briefing.
Tedros said the other arms of the trial remain unaffected by the suspension, adding that “this concern relates to the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in COVID-19.”
In its clarification on Friday, the medical journal said that one hospital self-designated as belonging to the Australasia continental designation should have been assigned to the Asian continental designation but noted that the results of the study remained unchanged.
President Trump and his administration have been pushing for the use of hydroxychloroquine, which he has previously called a “game changer” in the fight against the virus.