WHO ending hydroxycholorquine trial for COVID-19

BERLIN: The World Health Organization says it is ending a trial into whether anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine helps patients hospitalised with COVID-19.

WHO said Saturday it has accepted the recommendation from the committee overseeing the trial to discontinue testing of hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir, a drug combination used to treat HIV/ AIDS. The drugs were being compared with standard care for hospitalized patients. WHO says a review of the interim results showed hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalized COVID19 patients when compared to standard of care.

The agency adds that while there was no solid evidence of increased mortality for hospitalized patients given the drugs, there were some associated safety signals in the clinical laboratory findings of an associated trial.

WHO says the decision won't affect possible trials on patients who aren't hospitalized, or on those receiving the drugs before potential exposure to the Coronavirus or shortly afterward. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record hike in the number of global Coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 212,326 in 24 hours in the highest single-day increase since COVID-19 broke out.

WHO said that nearly half of the new cases were recorded in the US and Brazil, with 53,213 and 48,105 new infections, respectively.