Malaria drug hydroxychloroquine fails to prevent COVID-19 in high profile study

WASHINGTON, DC: The malaria drug promoted by US President Donald Trump as a treatment for COVID-19 was ineffective in preventing infection in people exposed to the coronavirus, according to a widely anticipated clinical trial released on Wednesday .AdvertisementVocal support from Trump kicked off a heated debate and raised expectations for the decades-old drug that could be a cheap and widely available tool in fighting the pandemic that has infected more than 6.

All participants were randomly assigned to receive either hydroxychloroquine - which is certified for use against malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus - or a placebo, within four days. Several trials of the drug have been stopped over concerns about its safety for treating COVID-19 that were raised by health regulators and previous less rigorous studies."I think both sides - one side who is saying 'this is a dangerous drug' and the other side that says 'this works' - neither is correct," said Boulware.

Hydroxychloroquine - which has anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties - inhibited the virus in laboratory experiments. But these type of human trials are needed to definitively demonstrate whether the drug's benefits, if any, outweigh the risks when compared with a placebo. On Tuesday, the British medical journal the Lancet said it had concerns about data behind an influential article that found hydroxychloroquine increased the risk of death in COVID-19 patients, a conclusion that undercut scientific interest in the medicine.

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