Brazil to continue administering HCQ despite safety concerns highlighted by WHO

Brazilian Health Ministry said that it would not alter its recommendation to use hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19 patients even after the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the suspension of drug trial over safety concerns. The Lancet had published a study on May 22 in which the authors reported that there was a higher mortality rate among COVID-19 patients when they were administered with hydroxychloroquine alone or with a macrolide.

Referring to the study, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the Executive Group of the Solidarity Trial has agreed to review a comprehensive analysis and critical appraisal of all evidence available globally. He added that the Executive Group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board.

Brazil's Health Ministry official Mayra Pinheiro told a press briefing that there will be no change in the guidelines issued last week. Questioning the accuracy of the report, Pinheiro said that the study was based on a data set collected from different countries and was not a clinical trial. She added that the report doesn’t meet the criteria of a “methodologically acceptable study” and can’t be used as a reference.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, just like his US counterpart, has been a strong proponent of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients. The guideline to use chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms was issued shortly after the resignation of Nelson Teich as Health Minister.

Read: 'Resign, Shut Up & Stay At Home': Brazilian Mayor Attacks PM Bolsonaro Over COVID Response

New epicentre

Brazil has reported over 374,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, second-highest in the world, and 23, 834 deaths related to the infection, according to Johns Hopkins University. According to the latest report, over 5.5 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide with nearly 347,000 deaths, overwhelming health care facilities across the globe. The United States, Russia, Brazil, and the UK are the worst-hit countries due to the pandemic, with the Latin American country emerging as the new epicentre of the virus outbreak.

Read: Social Distancing Goes For A Toss As Brazil Prez Rallies With Supporters Amid Virus Surge

(Image credit: AP)