Brazilians Nosing Around for “Miracle” Treatment

A senior delegation of Brazilian government officials were in Israel on Sunday to discuss pandemic policies, and an Israeli-developed nasal spray that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has touted as a “miracle” treatment for the coronavirus.

Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo and chair of the Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee Eduardo Bolsonaro — the son of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro – met with Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi.

“We are working together to expand cooperation between our two countries in the fight against the pandemic. We will help Brazil in every way possible and examine ways to deepen research and development in drugs and other solutions for dealing with the virus,” Ashkenazi said.

He also thanked Brasilia for standing with Israel against the ICC decision to open a probe against Israel for alleged war crimes.

Representatives from Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital, where the EXO-CD24 nasal spray is being developed, will reportedly meet with members of the delegation in their hotel after a request was denied for a visit at the hospital.

Tests of the spray have been promising, though on a very small scale. Of the 35 patients on whom EXO-CD24 was tested, 31 were able to leave the hospital after two to five days of treatment. There was no placebo group, and research data has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

According to Ynet, the Brazilians will be cconfined to their hotel for the entire visit except for their meetings with Netanyahu and Ashkenazi, which will take place at the Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Ministry, respectively. They were given special permission to enter the country without requiring quarantine, in order to facilitate the meetings.

However, the Foreign Ministry said the visit would be taking place “according to Health Ministry guidelines.”