The World Health Organization (WHO) is aware of the preliminary findings of tests conducted in the UK, which found that hydroxychloroquine does not reduce mortality rates among COVID-19 patients, the WHO's chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday, adding that the organization will continue to use the drug in trials until the final results of the study are published
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2020) The World Health Organization (WHO) is aware of the preliminary findings of tests conducted in the UK, which found that hydroxychloroquine does not reduce mortality rates among COVID-19 patients, the WHO's chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday, adding that the organization will continue to use the drug in trials until the final results of the study are published.
Earlier on Friday, scientists at the University of Oxford, who are conducting the so-called Recovery trial to find effective treatments for COVID-19, said that the anti-malaria treatment hydroxychloroquine did not save the lives of people who had tested positive for the coronavirus disease.
"Indeed we are aware of the release of a statement from the chief investigators of the Recovery trial in the UK ... They have come to the conclusion that there is no benefit of hydroxychloroquine use on mortality in hospitalized COVID patients," Swaminathan said at the WHO's daily press briefing.
The WHO's chief scientist said that the organization will continue to use the treatment in its own so-called Solidarity trial, which is also looking to find effective drugs to treat the coronavirus disease.
"We await to see the final data analysis and the publication that's going to come out of it, and certainly, we will be considering these results as we go on. However, there are two distinct trials with their own protocols, their own oversight committees and, therefore, we will continue for now and our committee will consider the data as it becomes available," Swaminathan remarked.
Hydroxychloroquine was touted by US President Donald Trump as a potential treatment for COVID-19, but a study published in The Lancet journal in late May said that it was ineffective, prompting the WHO to suspend trials of the drug.
This study has since been retracted after concerns were raised over the viability of the data used in the study, which was collected by the firm Surgisphere.
On Wednesday, Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the organization will resume trials of the drug.
