Brazil’s Bolsonaro posts video of himself taking hydroxychloroquine in fight against coronavirus

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has shared video of himself taking the drug hydroxychloroquine in his fight against the coronavirus.

The clip was posted to Facebook as Brazil — the world’s sixth-biggest nation – has become one of the outbreak’s most lethal hotspots. More than 65,000 Brazilians have died from COVID-19, and over 1.5 million have been infected.

“For those who root against hydroxychloroquine, but don’t present alternatives, I regret to inform you that I’m very well with its use and, with God’s grace, I will live for a long time still,” Bolsonaro said Wednesday.
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Bolsonaro revealed yesterday that he tested positive for the virus, after months of downplaying its severity.

The president told reporters he underwent a lung X-ray on Monday after experiencing fever, muscle aches and malaise. As of Tuesday, his fever had subsided, he said, and he attributed the improvement to hydroxychloroquine.

“I’m, well, normal. I even want to take a walk around here, but I can’t due to medical recommendations,” Bolsonaro said.

Later Tuesday, he posted a video to Facebook of him taking his third dose of hydroxychloroquine, which has also been promoted by President Donald Trump.

BOLSONARO ANNOUNCES HE HAS CORONAVIRUS

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, wearing a face mask with a logo of the Federal Police, leaves his official residence of Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, in May. (AP)
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, wearing a face mask with a logo of the Federal Police, leaves his official residence of Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, in May. (AP)
However, the drug’s effectiveness in treating the coronavirus has been called into question.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned in mid-June that “recent results from a large, randomized clinical trial in hospitalized patients” found that hydroxychloroquine “showed no benefit for decreasing the likelihood of death or speeding recovery.”

The FDA then said at the beginning of this month that a summary of its “review of safety issues with the use of hydroxychloroquine” includes “reports of serious heart rhythm problems and other safety issues, including blood and lymph system disorders, kidney injuries, and liver problems and failure.”

The World Health Organization’s emergencies chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, has wished Bolsonaro a speedy recovery and said his infection “brings home the reality of this virus” by showing that it doesn’t distinguish between “prince or pauper.”

Bolsonaro has often appeared in public to shake hands with supporters and mingle with crowds, at times without a mask. He has said that his history as an athlete would protect him from the virus and that it would be nothing more than a “little flu” if he were to contract it.

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He has also repeatedly said that there is no way to prevent 70 percent of the population falling ill with COVID-19 and that local authorities’ efforts to shut down economic activity would ultimately cause more hardship than allowing the virus to run its course, the Associated Press reports.

Brazilian cities and states last month began lifting restrictions that had been imposed to control the spread of the virus, as deaths began to decline along with the caseload in intensive care units.