Herton EscobarScience’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center and the Heising-Simons Foundation.On 19 October, the Brazilian government organized a high-profile ceremony to announce what it billed as a new breakthrough in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic: the antiparasitic drug nitazoxanide.
President Jair Bolsonaro was present, as were several other Cabinet members. “We are announcing something that will begin to change the history of the pandemic,” science minister Marcos Pontes said.Only one thing was missing from the presentation: the evidence.
And when it emerged 4 days later, scientists were decidedly underwhelmed.Bolsonaro has been a tireless advocate of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, even after large.