India to continue use of HCQ among frontline workers, says ICMR, even as WHO suspends trial

“Weeks after the malaria drug was recommended, we got some data on hydroxychloroquine which showed that there is no harm, but benefits may be there,” ICMR Director General Dr. Bhargava said.

Moneycontrol News

May 26, 2020 / 10:40 PM IST

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While the World Health Organization (WHO) has suspended testing of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns, ICMR said that India will continue to use it as a preventive measure among frontline healthcare workers.

Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Dr Balram Bhargava, said that hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was recommended based on in-vitro studies which showed it had antiviral properties, News18 reported.

Bhargava also said that observational studies and case-control studies have not shown many side effects of HCQ. ICMR had first recommended the use of the anti-malarial drug in March and expanded its use last week.

Also read: WHO pauses trial of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns

"We thought it might be a useful drug for the prevention of COVID-19. Taking the in-vitro data and the availability and safety of this drug, we recommended the usage of HCQ under strict medical supervision,” Bhargava added.

COVID-19 Vaccine

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