Interview with Dr Altino de Almeida, from Recife, Brazil
This interview features one of the most prominent medical doctors in the current COVID-19 crisis in Brazil.
The esteemed Dr Cristiana Altino de Almeida, who is a specialist in nuclear medicine with over 50 years of experience, is part of a movement of thousands of Brazilian medical doctors who are now treating COVID-19 patients at the early stage of the disease, with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, zinc and other medications, mostly through telemedicine, the patients not being hospitalized.
While the interview focuses on Brazil, Dr Altino de Almeida voices her opinions about what is going on internationally, especially in countries such as Canada and the UK, where the pandemic is still active and where those who contract COVID-19 are not treated early for the disease, in large part because of governmental policies prohibiting medical doctors from doing so.
In this first part of the interview, Dr Altino de Almeida talks about her own experience, how she came to treat COVID-19 patients, how early treatment is so important, and how the medical profession in Brazil came to adopt a treatment protocol relying on the experience of numerous medical doctors treating the disease – a protocol now official endorsed by the federal ministry of health.
The second part of the interview is about Dr Altino de Almeida’s own experience with COVID-19, as she herself contracted the disease, took treatment for it, and is now recovering from it.
The third part will focus on public health policies in Brazil, which is a federal state, for dealing with the epidemic.
The picture below features Dr Altino de Almeida with other medical doctors, part of the movement “Medicos Pela Vida” — “Medical Doctors for Life” — who are committed to treat COVID-19 patients early, before hospitalization is required.

And here is part 2.