When President Jair Bolsonaro announced that he had contracted the novel coronavirus, he made several factually incorrect statements related to using hydroxychloroquine against Covid-19.
Studies on the drug do not point to any beneficial effects of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine against the coronavirus Sars-CoV-2.
Other drugs, such as dexamethasone and remdesivir, have already had more solid and encouraging positive results in serious and well-designed studies.
Still, there is no treatment to cure or prevent Covid-19. Health organizations claim that social distance, hygiene care, and wearing a mask are the primary weapons in combating the disease.
"If I hadn't taken the exam and had taken hydroxychloroquine as a preventative, as many people do, I would be working until ... obviously, it could be contaminating people, that was my concern of trying to do the exam on Monday itself to avoid the contagion from third parties."
According to one of the most extensive studies on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine, it is not possible to say that the drug prevents the clinical condition of anyone infected with the new coronavirus from worsening. There is also no evidence to date to indicate that chloroquine may prevent transmission of the virus between people.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon