The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) moratorium on testing hydroxychloroquine(HCQ), the controversial anti-malarial drug, for dealing with COVID-19, which was revealed on Monday, doesn’t suggest that India needs to pause checking the drug as a preventive, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist, WHO, told The Hindu in an e-mail.
To objectively examine the advantage of these drugs over standard-of-care treatments, clinicians would be assessing these drugs in Randomised Scientific Trial (RCT)– the most medically legitimate method– whereby some groups of clients, unknown to the administering doctors and recipient clients– would get the drug and some wouldn’t. Hydroxychloroquine: publisher reveals ‘issues’ about research study
However, officials in the Health Ministry stated India’s stance– advising the drug as a preventive for groups that were at high risk of contracting the infection– was based on internal research studies and lab experiments that showed the drug had anti-viral residential or commercial properties.
