This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/news/489724-who-drops-hydroxychloroquine-risks/

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
WHO SUSPENDS trials of Trump-chosen hydroxychloroquine drug over SAFETY RISKS for Covid-19 patients WHO SUSPENDS trials of Trump-chosen hydroxychloroquine drug over SAFETY RISKS for Covid-19 patients
(about 3 hours later)
The World Health Organization has paused the clinical trials of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus patients. It says the drug, notably taken and endorsed by US President Donald Trump, has raised safety concerns.The World Health Organization has paused the clinical trials of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus patients. It says the drug, notably taken and endorsed by US President Donald Trump, has raised safety concerns.
The drug’s safety data is being reviewed by a monitoring board, and the trials have been put on hold, the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. It was being tested as part of the Solidarity international program aimed at tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.The drug’s safety data is being reviewed by a monitoring board, and the trials have been put on hold, the WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. It was being tested as part of the Solidarity international program aimed at tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
The UN health body took the step out of an “abundance of caution,” said Mike Ryan, the head of the organization’s emergencies program.The UN health body took the step out of an “abundance of caution,” said Mike Ryan, the head of the organization’s emergencies program.
The WHO move comes after a prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet, published a study on the side effects of the drug. The article found a higher mortality rate among the Covid-19 patients that had received it. This is in contrast with the earlier positive reviews of the drug, said to have observed just the opposite.
The WHO has previously advised against the widespread use of the drug in treatment of Covid-19, arguing that it should be reserved solely for clinical trials. However, it has been actively promoted by Trump, who even took a two-week hydroxychloroquine course as a preventive measure against the coronavirus. In his latest interview published Sunday, Trump said he has finished the course and “is still here.” Ghebreyesus said a monitor will now “review a comprehensive analysis and critical appraisal of all evidence available globally” regarding the effects of hydroxychloroquine. The “likely side effects” of the drug seen in patients suffering from “severe” Covid-19 cases involved “cardiac complications, including development of cardiac arrhythmias,” Ryan said.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW The WHO has previously advised against the widespread use of the drug in the treatment of Covid-19, arguing that it should be reserved solely for clinical trials. However, it has been actively promoted by Trump, who even took a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against the coronavirus. In his latest interview, published Sunday, Trump said he'd finished the course and “is still here.”
The US president’s statements – which rammed home the message that the cheap and decades-old drug “saves lives” – have sparked a flurry of warnings and skeptical media commentary. Some channels rushed to caution the drug might literally “kill” people, while others doubted Trump took it at all. The developments prompted the White House physician, Sean Conley, to say that the benefits of such treatment “outweighed” the risks – but he stopped short of directly confirming if the president took the course.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!