A study conducted by Datafolha and published on Wednesday showed that one in every four Brazilians resorted to so-called “early treatment” against Covid-19, endorsed vehemently by the Jair Bolsonaro administration.
Despite a lack of scientific evidence to back up its claims, the government has recommended a cocktail of drugs such as antimalarial medication chloroquine and ivermectin, an antiparasitic.
However, as Brazil’s Senate recently kicked off an inquiry into the government’s pandemic response, several right-wing pro-Bolsonaro journalists and social media influencers — as well as the Health Ministry itself — deleted videos from their online profiles that supported the use of those medicines.
Datafolha’s survey interviewed more than 2,000 people from 146 different municipalities, finding that 12 percent self-medicated with these “early treatment” drugs, while another 11 percent were prescribed them by medical professionals.
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