Brazil’s Petrobras prescribes Ivermectin to employees with Covid-19 – labor union

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Petroleum Workers Federation (FUP) denounced that Petrobras (PETR3; PETR4) is prescribing Ivermectin for the treatment of its employees with Covid-19, according to a prescription given to infected workers or suspected of being infected by the disease.

The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) has rejected ivermectin for treating Covid-19 because in addition to being ineffective, it may have side effects. “Insistence on this treatment contravenes not only the World Health Organization protocols: the pharmaceutical company Merck itself, which manufactures the drug, declared in an official statement that, according to its scientists’ analysis, there is no efficacy in the use of the drug for Covid,” FUP alerts in a statement.

The state-owned company is allegedly in line with the federal government’s position, which, led by president Jair Bolsonaro, advocates the early treatment of Covid-19 using drugs rejected by the W.H.O. Ivermectin, for instance, is used in the treatment of parasites, such as lice and scabies.

The federation also criticized the quality of the masks that Petrobras has been distributing.

“In addition to prescribing drugs with no proven efficacy, the company refuses to supply PFF2 protection masks to all employees, contrary to the Labor Prosecutor’s Office and Fiocruz’s advice,” it said.

The organization also points out that Petrobras has also refused to test employees for Covid-19 iwhile on board offshore platforms (testing is only conducted before boarding), and that it does not respect social distancing in its activities.

According to the 61st Covid-19 Bulletin released on Monday, June 14, by the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), the number of deaths by Covid-19 at Petrobras has more than doubled in the last two and a half months, to 45 workers, and 7,205 have been infected by the disease, while 6,949 have recovered.

The other side

According to Petrobras, “there is no corporate guidance as to the drugs to be prescribed in case of Covid-19, or any other disease. The prescription of drugs for any disease is the choice and responsibility of the medical professional and this autonomy is assured by the Code of Medical Ethics.”

Also according to the company, Petrobras’ physicians have as their main attribution occupational health and, during the Covid-19 pandemic, they work in the development and monitoring of preventive measures.

“The prescription of drugs to treat Covid-19 is performed only in specific situations. The recommendation to seek the attending physician for treatment follow-up is always emphasized, whether in the public or private health care network,” it explained.

On the increase in deaths and infections by the disease, the company said that the recorded cases of infection follow a trend similar to national averages, and the diagnosis at Petrobras is more accurate, because employees are tested more often than the general population.

It also reported that it provides different types of masks depending on the type of task performed and the nature of activities. “Fabric or disposable masks with multiple layers, surgical masks, and PFF-2 type masks are used,” it said in a statement, stressing that it has adopted all protective measures for workers to prevent infection.