Now Trump Is Sending His Favorite Unproven Drug to Brazil

The White House said on Sunday that 2 million doses of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and 1,000 ventilators have been sent to Brazil to help the country “fight against the coronavirus.” The announcement comes after President Trump pledged to terminate the U.S. relationship with the World Health Organization, which temporarily suspended trials of hydroxychloroquine last week due to safety concerns. Although the drug has not been shown to help patients—and a study found it could harm them—Trump has continued to promote it as a treatment for COVID-19, claiming he took it himself. Now he says it will be used “as a prophylactic to help defend Brazil’s nurses, doctors, and healthcare professionals against the virus. It will also be used as a therapeutic to treat Brazilians who become infected.” The statement added that the administration will launch a “joint United States-Brazilian research effort that will include randomized controlled clinical trials” to help “further evaluate the safety and efficacy” of hydroxychloroquine.