The United States has sent Brazil two million doses of hydroxychloroquine, the use of which to treat Covid-19 is controversial, the White House announced Sunday. "The American and Brazilian peoples are united in the fight against the coronavirus. Today, as proof of this solidarity, we announce that the American government has delivered two million doses of hydroxychloroquine to the people of Brazil," said the US executive in a statement.
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Hydroxychloroquine "will be used preventively to help defend nurses, doctors and health care professionals from the virus. It will also be used as a treatment to treat infected Brazilians," he added. President Donald Trump, who shows his proximity to the Brazilian head of state Jair Bolsonaro, himself surprised everyone ten days ago by announcing that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against coronavirus, in disregard of the recommendations of the American health authorities.
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A research collaboration
The White House also said on Sunday that the two countries will collaborate in research by conducting randomized clinical trials, "to help further assess the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine preventively and as an early treatment for coronavirus ". Hydroxychloroquine has been used for a long time against malaria, but its possible efficacy against the coronavirus has so far not been demonstrated by any rigorous study.
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Several clinical trials have been suspended worldwide and certain countries, including France, have banned the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19, to the chagrin of its promoters. The White House has also indicated that the United States will soon send a thousand respirators to Brazil as part of the fight against Covid-19.