What are Maduro’s miraculous droplets against the coronavirus?

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appears to have another ‘miracle’ to save his citizens from COVID-19 and is now promoting a secret solution for which he has presented no scientific evidence, but which he believes is capable of defeating the novel coronavirus .

“Ten drops under the tongue every four hours and the miracle is done, it is done,” Maduro said during a television appearance on Sunday. “It’s a powerful, very powerful antiviral that neutralizes the coronavirus.”

However, his government has not released any evidence and has kept the name of “the brilliant mind of Venezuela” a secret, saying it must protect this person, while scientists at home and abroad are skeptical.

The local National Academy of Medicine noted that it is “believed to be a derivative of thyme”, an herb known since ancient times for its “nutritional and therapeutic potential”, but nothing more.

This is not the first time that the Venezuelan leader has promoted a cure. In October, he notified the Pan American Health Organization that Venezuelan scientists had discovered a molecule that canceled the replication capacity of the new coronavirus. The leader has not spoken of the conclusions of this development since then. He also promoted a special herbal tea which he said can defend against viruses and other ailments.

Other leaders have also turned to solutions rejected by scientific studies. Former US President Donald Trump and Brazilian Jair Bolsonaro have stubbornly promoted an antimalarial drug, despite repeated studies finding it ineffective and possibly dangerous.

The new coronavirus has not hit Venezuela as hard as other South American countries such as Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, although many experts say it is likely due to sanctions against the Maduro government having considerably restricted movement, reinforcing the isolation of the country after years of political, economic and social crisis.

Maduro assured that the treatment, which he called “carvativir”, was tested for nine months in Venezuelans sick with the coronavirus. He said he plans to distribute it nationally and to other nations as well.

On Tuesday evening, Maduro insisted the drug was undergoing a series of rigorous “clinical tests”, without giving details or showing any evidence, which would allow him to say that carvativir “is a powerful complementary antiviral for the disease. cure and cure from COVID-19. “.

“I can say it with all his letters, even though they censor Twitter, Facebook and censor me in the world for talking about people’s health,” Maduro denounced, commenting that he was informed that YouTube had “censored” the account. of the Venezuelan national television after posting the video where on Sunday “I explained the antiviral drug Carvativir”.

Dr. David Boulware, professor of medicine and infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, pointed to the lack of scientific evidence. “It’s, like other things, like people trying to sell, you know, magic beans as a solution to a complex problem,” Boulware told The Associated Press Tuesday. “It would be great if it worked, but I would love to see the data.”

The Venezuelan National Academy of Medicine said it would be “prudent to wait for more data from Carvativir tests, according to international protocols.”

Venezuela has been part of Sputnik V vaccine trials in Russia since October, a staunch ally of the Maduro government. The Venezuelan government signed a contract with Russia in December to purchase the vaccine, but vaccinations are not expected to start until April.