Tag: hydroxychloroquine

WHO halts hydroxychloroquine trials on COVID-19 patients

by Robin MILLARD GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization decided Wednesday to halt trials of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for hospitalized COVID-19 patients, finding it did not reduce the mortality rate. A decades-old malaria and rheumatoid arthritis drug, hydroxychloroquine has been at the centre of political and scientific controversy. It has been touted as a possible treatment for the new coronavirus by high profile figures, including US President Donald Trump. The drug […]

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US ends emergency authorization of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Monday withdrew emergency use authorizations for two antimalarial drugs favored by President Donald Trump to treat the new coronavirus, effectively shutting the door on the politically charged treatments. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine (CQ) were authorized in March after they were found to inactivate the virus in test tubes, and early small studies appeared to show they worked well in humans, too. Since that time, however, larger, […]

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Hydroxychloroquine ineffective at preventing COVID-19: trial

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Taking hydroxychloroquine shortly after being exposed to COVID-19 does not help prevent infection in a statistically meaningful way, scientists reported Wednesday following a clinical trial. The medicine has been touted by US President Donald Trump, who has said he used it as a prophylaxis against the novel coronavirus. But an experiment involving 821 people across the United States and Canada showed it did not work significantly better than a placebo […]

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France halts hydroxychloroquine use for COVID-19 cases: govt

by Joseph Schmid PARIS, France (AFP) — The French government said Wednesday that doctors can no longer treat COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine, a controversial and potentially harmful drug nonetheless being promoted by US President Donald Trump. The move came after two French advisory bodies and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this week that the drug, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, had been shown to be potentially dangerous in several studies. The urgency […]

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DOH says COVID-19 patients who’ve already started on hydroxychloroquine to finish treatment

But no more new patients to be given the drug   (Eagle News) – The Department of Health said that it will not accept new patients for hydroxychloroquine following the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO) to discontinue its use for its Solidarity Trial. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that while the Executive Group of the WHO Solidarity trial in the country has decided not to accept new patients, those COVID-19 patients who […]

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WHO suspends trials of hydroxychloroquine as virus treatment

  by Nina LARSON Agence France Presse GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization said on Monday it had temporarily suspended clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for coronavirus. The decision came after a study published in The Lancet medical journal last week suggested the drug could increase the risk of death among COVID-19 patients, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference. Tedros said the executive group of the […]

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US President Trump says he is taking hydroxychloroquine

by Sebastian Smith Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump on Monday made the surprise announcement that he is taking hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that his own government experts say is not suitable for fighting the novel coronavirus. Trump, noting that he has tested negative for the virus and shows no symptoms, said he’d been taking the drug as a preventative measure for about a week and a half. “I take […]

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Zinc-hydroxychloroquine found effective in some COVID-19 patients: study

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine has shown mixed results against the coronavirus in early studies, but a new paper out of New York suggests combining it with the dietary supplement zinc sulfate could create a more effective treatment. The research by the NYU Grossman School of Medicine was posted on a medical preprint site on Monday, meaning it hasn’t yet been peer reviewed. Records of about 900 COVID-19 patients were reviewed […]

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French watchdog warns about use of Trump-backed virus drug

PARIS, France (AFP) — The French drugs agency warned doctors for a second time Saturday about using hydroxychloroquine, the drug championed by US President Donald Trump as a “game changer” in the fight against COVID-19, as the number of cases of worrying side effects continued to rise. The agency, known by its initials ANSM, had already issued a “signal of vigilance” about the anti-malaria drug which is also used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. […]

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