ByAARON REICH

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro is seeking to get emergency approval for an Israeli-made nasal spray treatment for COVID-19.

Taking to Twitter, Bolsonaro included a screenshot of a Tweet made late last week by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with the Hebrew shown translated into Portuguese, where Netanyahu said he had spoken to the Brazilian leader – who he has long referred to as a "good friend" – on cooperating to develop vaccines and treatments for the coronavirus.
Above this, Bolsonaro tweeted regarding the EXO-CD24 nasal spray, saying that he would seek for it to be approved for emergency use by Brazil's federal health regulator, Anvisa.
 

The spray was developed by Prof. Nadir Arber at Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov). In its Phase I clinical trial, nearly 100% (29/30) of the moderate-to-severe COVID-19 patients administered the spray fully recovered and were released just three-five days later. The last patient also recovered, but took longer.

Following these trials, Netanyahu publicly referred to the spray as a "miracle cure" during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis last week.

“If you’re infected by corona and are seriously ill and have a lung problem, take this, inhale it, and you come out feeling good,” Netanyahu said of the spray, adding that Greece's largest hospital would take part in clinical trials for it.

Despite the positive feedback thus far, the trials have only recently finished Phase I, and the data has yet to be published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.

However, Bolsonaro has been shown to be willing to accept experimental COVID-19 treatments, even if they are questioned by health experts, such as touting anti-malaria treatments chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, even taking the latter himself after he contracted COVID-19 in July, despite the overwhelming scientific consensus stating that the two drugs are ineffective, AFP reported.

In December, Bolsonaro also infamously once suggested that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could cause one to transform into a crocodile. Though speaking in jest, he was referring to the fact that he was unsure of the side effects the Pfizer vaccine could have.

"In the Pfizer contract it's very clear: 'we're not responsible for any side effects.' If you turn into a crocodile, it's your problem," Bolsonaro said at the time, according to AFP.

"If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they will not have anything to do with it."Maayan Hoffman and Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.