WHO suspends COVID-19 trials of HCQ over safety issues

Team Udayavani, May 26, 2020, 9:43 AM IST

The World Health Organization said that it will briefly drop hydroxychloroquine—the anti-malaria drug from its study into trial COVID-19 medicines on Monday, May 26.

In a press briefing, the WHO chief general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a paper published last week in the Lancet demonstrated that individuals taking hydroxychloroquine were at a higher danger of death and heart issues. Considering that the WHO will temporarily pause the worldwide clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment.

Tedros stated that hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are approved medicines for treating Malaria or autoimmune diseases.

“The other medicines in the trial will continue to be tested including the experimental drug remdesivir, and HIV combination therapy,” he added.