Hydroxychloroquine trial for COVID-19 treatment continues, FG says

by Admin · May 28, 2020

The Nigerian government, through it National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has rejected the suspension of hydroxychloroquine as potential treatment for COVID-19, by World Health Organisation (WHO).
The federal government maintained yesterday that the trial will continue in Nigeria as there are proven records that hydroxychloroquine has been effective in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
WHO had on Monday said it has temporarily suspended the clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 following safety concerns.
It also said the decision followed a study in The Lancet that the use of the drug on COVID-19 patients could increase their likelihood of dying.
Chloroquine, a synthetic drug introduced in the 1940s, is a member of an important series of chemically related agents known as quinoline derivatives. Hydroxychloroquine is a related compound that was introduced in 1955.
Director-General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, who spoke during an interview on Television Continental (TVC) yesterday, explained that hydroxychloroquine is most effective in patients at the mild stage of the virus.
“There is data to prove that hydroxychloroquine worked for many COVID-19 patients. Therefore, we would continue our own clinical trials in Nigeria.
“Hydroxychloroquine has been proved to work at a mild stage. So the potency depends on the severity of the disease in the patient’s body”, she stated.
There has been controversy trailing the use of chloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients, with the President of United States, Donald Trump admitting last week that he had been using hydroxychloroquine to protect himself against COVID-19.
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on coronavirus at a daily briefing, however, warned Nigerians against using the drug, stating that the drug has not been declared a cure for the disease and further warned of the possibility of chloroquine poisoning if one indulges in self-medication with the drug.