Chloroquine Ban Battle Gathers Strength in Brazilian Senate

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Senators have begun talks to block changes introduced by the Ministry of Health in the protocol for chloroquine use. The portfolio released the drug for mild Covid-19 cases.

A draft legislative decree is being considered to prevent the drug from being recommended. Differences with President Jair Bolsonaro over the drug toppled two Ministers: Nelson Teich and Luiz Henrique Mandetta.

Senators and former Ministers of Health José Serra (PSDB-SP) and Humberto Costa (PE-PT) are conducting the mobilizations. The initiatives are backed by leaders of different parties. Serra is the author of a bill that calls for the full cancellation of the guidelines protocol.

The proposal for a decree is the only alternative because the Ministry of Health’s document was issued following  Bolsonaro’s decision. To prevail over the presidential decree, the bill needs to be passed by both the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Serra said that Bolsonaro could not make what he calls “political use” of the fight against the coronavirus.

“Medical authorities have already spoken out against the measure, and WHO [World Health Organization], when asked about the Brazilian government’s decision, reiterated that besides not having a proven efficacy, chloroquine can cause severe side effects,” he said.

The Ministry of Health’s decision was published on Wednesday, May 20th. The next day, the draft legislative decree was recorded in the Senate. Until that time, the protocol adopted by the portfolio provided for the use of the drug only in critically ill patients and monitored in hospitals.

The recommendation comes after several studies have found that chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine not only have no effect on Covid-19 but can also increase cardiac risk.

Nevertheless, Bolsonaro has said he will not give up the measure. “Whoever doesn’t want to take it, then don’t take it. But get off the backs of those who do,”, the President said on Friday, May 22nd. Costa criticized Bolsonaro’s position. “The President of the Republic is not a scientist, he is not a doctor, and it should not be up to him to make this decision,” the senator said.

The document released by the Ministry last week does not force SUS professionals to comply with it. However, doctors fear the change will increase pressure to prescribe the drug.

For PSD (Social Democratic Party) Senate leader Otto Alencar, the recommendation is an attempt at intimidation. According to him, the medical community can not accept this. “I am a doctor and I would never submit to that kind of protocol. No doctor in good conscience will do that. It’s absurd,” he said.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court (STF) again imposed a defeat on Bolsonaro. The justices ruled that the President’s Provisional Measure (MP) designed to shield public officials from liability during the Coronavirus pandemic, could not be used to shield administrative practices contrary to medical and scientific recommendations.

The Court upheld the provision that public administrators should only be held accountable in civil and administrative courts and entities, when they “act or fail to act with malice or gross misconduct,” as the Provisional Measure provides.

The President of the CCJ (Commission of Constitution and Justice), Senator Simone Tebet said she believes that the STF ruling may lead to a more cautious use of the drug, thus allowing more time for the measure to be analyzed in Congress.

In her opinion, putting the issue to an immediate vote may hasten a political dispute, in addition to health issues. “If we take this issue to the plenary now, we could create further controversy at this time. It is to engage in radical discourse. We need to discuss this decree,” she said.

For the MDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement) leader in the Senate, Eduardo Braga, legislators are inclined to consider the proposal. However, he also said that discussions still need to be broadened: “I would certainly vote for this legislative decree. There is significant doubt over this chloroquine protocol,” said Braga.

“Issuing a protocol the way it was done is absurd when even medical authorities are against it,” he said. MDB, with 13 senators, is the largest party in the Senate.

For the leader of the opposition bloc, Randolfe Rodrigues (REDE-PE), the legislative decree is the alternative to reverse the measure published by the Ministry of Health. Along the same lines as Tebet, the senator also said he believes the Supreme Court’s decision could serve to reduce the use of the drug.

However, the senator argues that on Monday, May 25th, the potential for a vote on the proposal can be discussed during the virtual plenary session of the House.

“The legislative decree is a path. We will discuss it on Monday and proceed with it,” said Rodrigues.

Along another line, Senator Alessandro Vieira (CIDADANIA-SE), who is a doctor, forwarded a letter to the Ministry of Health requesting the indication of the officials responsible for the guidelines on chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine use in the treatment of patients with Covid-19.

Vieira signed the information request along with federal deputies Tábata Amaral (PDT-SP) and Felipe Rigoni (PSB-ES).

Source: Folhapress