The World Health Organization says, it is suspending the use of the malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19, due to safety concerns.
The Director General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus said this at a virtual press briefing.
He notes that the suspension on the Hyroxychloroquine arm of WHO’s global clinical trial had been ordered after a paper was published in a leading medical journal.
The paper concludes that people taking Hydroxychloroquine were at risk of heart problems and death.
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This is coming days after US President Donald Trump shocked reporters that he was taking it, even though he had not tested positive for covid-19.
The who had previously recommended against Hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent coronavirus infections, except as part of clinical trials.
The US food and drug administration and the European medicines agency had also warned health professionals that the drug should not be used to treat COVID-19, outside hospital or research settings.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
