Clinical trials of the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as well as the anti-HIV drug lopinavir / ritonavir in patients with coronavirus have been suspended by the World Health Organization (WHO), following preliminary results.
The United Nations health agency has said that the use of hydroxychloroquine, a drug that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, actively supported as a treatment against Covid-19, should be discontinued, as it has little or no effect in stopping disease progression.
Also on rt.com
‘No evidence of benefit’: FDA says hydroxychloroquine is no longer approved for emergency use with Covid-19
The decision was made after receiving preliminary results of clinical trials conducted as part of the Solidarity Initiative, a WHO-supported international program aimed at addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. The same study also showed that lopinavir / ritonavir, the two drugs that are commonly used in HIV therapy, and which is also touted as a possible cure for Covid-19, are equally ineffective.
“The interim results of the trials show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir / ritonavir produce little or no reduction in mortality in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 compared to standard care. Solidarity trial investigators will discontinue trials with immediate effect “ The organization said in a statement.
WHO accepted the recommendation of the International Steering Committee of the Solidarity Trial to discontinue the hydroxychloroquine trial and the lopinavir / ritonavir arms. More https://t.co/dCxHqBIwtr#COVID19#coronavirus
– World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) July 4, 2020
However, he noted that the aforementioned results have not yet been peer-reviewed, and his recommendations do not affect the potential use of the drugs in outpatients or as prophylaxis: Trump’s use of hydroxychloroquine.
The WHO had already stopped its hydroxychloroquine trials, citing “security concerns,” After a prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet, published a study on the drug’s side effects, which included a higher death rate among Covid-19 patients.
The move led many nations, including France, Italy, and Belgium, to ban the use of the drug in the treatment of the coronavirus. Others, like Spain or Russia, refused to do so.
Finally, the WHO resumed the trials, this time citing concerns about investigating side effects. Your current position is that “The interim results do not provide strong evidence of increased mortality.”
Also on rt.com
Leading Medical Journal Retracts Covid-19 Study Criticizing Hydroxychloroquine After Validity of Questioned Research Data
Do you think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
