A clinical trial of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus patients has been suspended amid safety concerns.
The drug has been touted by President Donald Trump and he even revealed he took the medication for two weeks as a prophylactic.
But the World Health Organization (WHO) said it was concerned after a study from The Lancet published on Friday revealed higher mortality rates among COVID-19 patients who took the drug.
Therefore, researchers said they’re suspending the use of hydroxychloroquine in the WHO’s Solidarity Trial, which is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of four drugs and drug combinations against the virus.
‘The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board,’ WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
However, the other arms of the trial are continuing.
