Health Ministry admits controversial “Covid kit” is ineffective

In documents sent to the Senate’s Covid hearings committee, the Brazilian Health Ministry admitted what many experts and the scientific community have affirmed for months: the government’s so-called “Covid kit” — consisting of a cocktail of drugs touted by President Jair Bolsonaro — is ineffective in treating Covid-19.

The Health Ministry told senators that medicines such as antimalarial drug chloroquine and antibiotic azithromycin “did not show clinical benefits in hospitalized patients and should not be used” against Covid-19.

The lack of evidence regarding these one-size-fits-all treatments raised concerns over potential side effects which could worsen the condition of some users. With Mr. Bolsonaro as their poster child, the prices of these drugs skyrocketed — and they vanished from pharmacy shelves due to a surge in demand driven by the president’s supporters. Chloroquine, as an example, is a crucial drug used to treat malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

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