Despite efforts by the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to boycott anti-Covid kit treatment guidelines, the batches of hydroxychloroquine donated by Donald Trump, then president of the United States, ceased to serve the fight against the pandemic in the SUS.
Of the 3 million pills that arrived in Brazil in June 2020, less than 1 million were applied against the new coronavirus.
In the Army, 745,000 doses of the drug are stranded. About 255,000 units had been distributed to military hospitals for ineffective treatment.
The Ministry of Health, which had 2 million doses of Trump’s hydroxychloroquine in hand, sent about 600,000 pills to cities that asked for the drug against Covid.
Afterwards, the folder sent the remainder (1.4 million units) to fight diseases provided for in the package insert, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
Even after stopping distributing the drug in the SUS against the pandemic, the government insists on not taking a stand against the use of these drugs and Bolsonaro continues to distort data to encourage the use of the so-called “Covid kit”.
In January, the Ministry of Health rejected treatment guidelines for the health crisis that contraindicated these drugs.
The secretary of Science and Technology of the folder, Hélio Angotti Neto, also signed a note that defended hydroxychloroquine and stated that vaccines are not safe and effective.
The guidelines on Covid-19, if approved, would not have the power to prohibit doctors from using ineffective drugs, but they would represent a stain on Bolsonaro’s denialist banners. This is because the federal government, through the Ministry of Health, would recognize the guidelines against the so-called early treatment.
The government’s idea was to use the hydroxychloroquine sent by the US government and pharmaceutical Sandoz as a pillar of the policy to combat Covid-19 from the second half of 2020.
The bet for the previous period of the health crisis had been chloroquine (a drug with a similar effect, but different composition) made in the Army Laboratory or diverted from the SUS malaria program. More than 5.4 million units of the drug were delivered to the SUS, even though it was not effective.
But the batches of hydroxychloroquine sent to Brazil by the Trump administration and Bolsonaro encountered barriers to being dumped into the public network.
The cargo arrived in the country divided into tubes with 100 pills. The government needed approval from Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) to divide the drug into smaller boxes and passed on the cost of the operation to states and municipalities that asked for the drugs.
Public managers still lost interest in treatment with the so-called Covid kit, pointed out as ineffective by specialized medical societies and entities such as the WHO (World Health Organization) a few months after the beginning of the pandemic.
The distribution of medicines still became the target of investigations by control bodies, the MPF (Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office) and actions in the STF (Supreme Federal Court).
The stimulus to the “Covid kit” was cited in requests for indictment made by the Covid CPI in the Senate. To evade punishment, the Bolsonaro government also modulated its discourse.
In January 2021, after being criticized for bringing ineffective drugs to Amazonas, when the state was collapsing due to lack of oxygen, former Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello went on to say that he never encouraged the use of these drugs.
The last delivery by the Ministry of Health of Trump’s hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid was made in April 2021, under Marcelo Queiroga’s administration.
as showed the leafmayors began to ask the Bolsonaro government to return the lots when they lost interest in the drug.
Since the end of 2021, the government has been trying to get rid of the Army’s stockpile, offering the drug to states that want to use it in treatments indicated in the package insert, which does not include Covid-19.
Even with the “Covid kit” pills stranded, however, Bolsonaro and his assistants still tried to increase stock and expenses for delivery to the SUS.
Documents delivered to the CPI show that the government considered buying 5 million doses of hydroxychloroquine from India in April 2020, but dropped the deal in October, when it was already stockpiling Trump’s donation.
From July to November of the same year, the Ministry of Health also opened a process to insert hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin in the Popular Pharmacy program, which gives discounts or free delivery of medicines mainly for prevalent diseases.
The initiative came from Angotti, the same secretary who recently vetoed the antichloroquine directive, and a draft ordinance was even prepared by Pazuello.
The idea, which did not materialize, was to spend up to R$250 million to pay for private network pharmacies accredited to the program, which would deliver the “Covid kit” for free.
In a statement, the Army confirmed the stock of about 775,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets.
Saúde, on the other hand, said that it asked the states to express “interest in receiving the [encalhado no Exército]as a donation, for use in the treatment of diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis”.
The folder also said that it will use the chloroquine that will be manufactured by Fiocruz in the malaria program this year. The laboratory is expected to deliver about 2.8 million doses
Source: Folha
Chad-98Weaver, a distinguished author at NewsBulletin247, excels in the craft of article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a penchant for storytelling, Chad delivers informative and engaging content that resonates with readers across various subjects. His contributions are a testament to his dedication and expertise in the field of journalism.
