WHO Resumes Study of Hydroxychloroquine for Treating COVID-19

On June 3, the World Health Organization (WHO) resumed a study looking into whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could be effective in treating COVID-19. Last week, the WHO temporarily stopped people from enrolling in the trial, part of a larger study called Solidarity that is investigating a number of different potential coronavirus therapies, over concerns about the hydroxychloroquine’s adverse effects on the heart. That followed the publication of a Lancet study on May 22, involving more than 96,000 people, which found that the drug did not improve survival among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, and that these patients were more likely to develop heart rhythm abnormalities, a known risk factor of the drug, than those not given the medication. (Researchers have raised questions about how the data was collected for that study, and the journal editors are looking into the matter, but for now, the findings stand.) Other studies have similarly found that people taking hydroxychloroquine do not benefit; the results of one trial conducted in New York suggested that COVID-19 patients taking the drug were just as likely to need a ventilator and to die from the illness than those not receiving the drug. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said in a press briefing on June 3 that the agency’s board reviewed the data concerning heart risks and found “no reasons to modify the trial.” Hydroxychloroquine is currently approved in...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news