Federal government does not indicate the use of chloroquine against Covid; post takes Flávio Dino’s lines out of context – 03/10/2023 – Health

Post with an interview by the Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flávio Dino, about the use of chloroquine and azithromycin for the treatment of Covid-19, is misleading. The content, verified by the Comprova Project, was actually shown on May 19, 2020, in the first months of the pandemic, when there was still no consensus among scientists about the ineffectiveness of these drugs. Dino was, at the time, governor of Maranhão.

According to the message that accompanies the video, it appears that Dino believes in the effectiveness of chloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19 nowadays, which is not true. “Now you can take chloroquine, azithromycin”, says the text that overlaps the recording of a man using a TikTok clown effect.

In the interview, the minister responds to the reporter who had questioned him about the “national controversy” of doctors prescribing chloroquine to treat the new coronavirus.

He says: “Completely unnecessary controversy, because since mid-March I have affirmed and reiterated that chloroquine can be prescribed by doctors. We always offer doctors the opportunity to prescribe chloroquine, azithromycin, ivermectin”.

In June 2020, a few days after Dino’s speech to TV Mirante, the SES (Health Department) of Maranhão released new treatment guidelines that advise against the use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.

Contrary to what the post states, the federal government does not recommend the use of medicines. The current Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, on January 10, reported, according to Valor Econômico, that “measures without scientific basis or without legal support, including a technical note on chloroquine, will be revoked immediately by the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. da Silva

Sought, Flávio Dino’s advisor said that the current position of the Minister of Justice and Public Security, regarding the use of drugs for Covid-19, is the same as in May 2020 – when, according to them, the then governor of MA did not say that he was in favor of drug use, but that he respects the decision of doctors on the subject.

“If the doctor finds it necessary to administer the drug, it will be administered. If the doctor does not consider it appropriate, or that there are risks for patients, it is clear that it will not be me or any external authority that will influence the content of the doctor’s work”, said Dino in May in the same interview in an excerpt after the scene was cut and released on the networks.

“Regimens with these drugs have not shown benefit in hospitalized patients, with an increased risk of cardiac complications”, informs the document.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro, throughout the pandemic, advised the use of chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin against Covid-19, despite the fact that these drugs do not have proven effectiveness in combating the disease.

Misleading, for Comprova, is content removed from the original context and used in another so that its meaning undergoes changes; that uses inaccurate data or that induces an interpretation different from the author’s intention; content that is confusing, with or without the deliberate intent to cause harm.

Reach

On TikTok, the piece of misinformation reached, until the morning of this Friday (10), 44.6 thousand views and 2.1 thousand likes, 290 comments and 1.9 thousand shares on several platforms, including WhatsApp.

What the person responsible for the publication says

Unable to contact the profile that posted the content on TikTok. However, the profile contains several contents similar to the video checked by Comprova.

In his account, the user reposts and reacts —sometimes using the clown filter— to videos against the government of President Lula (PT) and in favor of former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

How do we check

To investigate the video, Comprova searched for keywords in the recording to identify the recording date of the video that was circulating. With that, the report found the entirety of Dino’s interview with JMTV 2nd Edition on Globoplay, Rede Globo’s streaming service.

Once the original recording was located, Comprova got in touch with the minister to clarify what Dino’s position is – and what it once was – in relation to medicines in the context of the fight against Covid-19.

Then, the report looked for the protocol adopted by the Health Department of Maranhão on the use of chloroquine for the treatment of Covid at the time of the interview and today, to see if there were any changes after Dino’s speech to the broadcaster.

The project also searched the official federal government website for current Ministry of Health guidelines on the pharmacological treatment of hospitalized adults with Covid-19. The website provides a document from May 2021. It does not recommend the use of hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin or chloroquine, not even in association with other medicines.

Changes

In May 2020, the Secretary of Health of Maranhão began the implementation of a drug protocol to treat Covid-19 in hospitalized patients. Treatment was offered to people from one to five days after infection.

At the time, the secretariat justified the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine as a complement to other treatments, such as ventilatory assistance and medication for symptoms such as fever and malaise. However, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine were not indicated for disease prevention or treatment of mild cases.

Two years later, in August 2022, SES released the 10th edition of its New Coronavirus Contingency Plan. The document did not record new recommendations related to the use of hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine or azithromycin.

The protocol highlights the importance of early recognition of Covid-19 symptoms and continuous monitoring of patients for adequate care of suspected or confirmed cases of the disease. In addition, the protocol points out that the treatment of the disease must comply with the most recent technical opinions of the Ministry of Health, published in May 2021, which dispense with the use of chloroquine and azithromycin in cases of hospitalization.

no recommendation

The latest guidance from the Ministry of Health on the pharmacological treatment of hospitalized adults with Covid-19 was published in May 2021.

According to the agency, the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine is not recommended, not even in combination with other medications. According to ministerial guidelines, there is no evidence of benefit from using these drugs, either alone or in combination with other remedies.

The Ministry of Health points out, however, that patients who already use chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for other health conditions should continue with the treatment.

In addition, azithromycin, according to the same document, is also not recommended for hospitalized patients with Covid-19, unless bacterial infection is suspected or present.

The use of the drug must follow the guidelines of the local Hospital Infection Control Service or the institutional protocols for the use of antimicrobials. Clinical studies have not shown benefits in the use of other drugs in the treatment of Covid-19 (colchicine, convalescent plasma, combination of casirivimab and imdevimab, lopinavir/ritonavir and ivermectin).

The Ministry of Health also pointed out that the recommendations were issued based on technical and scientific evaluations, and must be followed by health professionals who work in the treatment of hospitalized patients with Covid-19.

What can we learn from this check

Taking legitimate content out of context to use it in a different context to support misleading narratives is a common tactic by disinformation spreaders. Legitimate content used in false contexts is believable and more easily accepted by the unwary. A closer look at the video allows identifying scene elements and information contained in Dino’s speech that show that the video was recorded when he was still governed from Maranhão before, therefore, taking over the Ministry of Justice and Public Security in the current government.

why do we investigate

Comprova monitors suspicious content published on social networks and messaging apps about public policies and elections at the federal level and opens investigations for those publications that have achieved greater reach and engagement. You can also suggest checks via WhatsApp 11 97795-0022. Suggestions and questions related to questionable content can also be sent to Sheet via WhatsApp 11 99486-0293.

Other checks on the topic

In April 2021, Projeto Comprova denied the same video that took Flávio Dino’s interview out of context. The publication in question came from Carlos Bolsonaro’s page. After the recent viralization of the same content, they also checked the content: UOL, G1, Estado de Minas, Aos Fatos and AFP we checked.