From Wonder Drug To Halting Its Usage - How Hydroxychloroquine Went From Hero To Zero
World Health Organisation (WH0) has suspended testing the drug in coronavirus patients due to safety concerns, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
The hydroxychloroquine for months has been advertised as a 'magical' drug that can cure coronavirus, but there has always been debate over its use.
The drug is normally used to treat arthritis but pronouncement from public figures including US President Donald Trump -- who also announced that he is taking the drug -- has prompted governments to bulk buy the medicine.
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Hydroxychloroquine
is an anti-malarial and experts have for long been saying that it can produce potentially serious side effects, particularly heart arrhythmia.
Now, World Health Organisation (WH0) has suspended testing the drug in coronavirus patients due to safety concerns, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.
"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," Tedros told an online briefing.
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From seen as a possible cure to being deemed not safe for patients. Here's a timeline of how we got here.
March 20 ¡ª Hydroxychloroquine, anti-malaria drug is touted as COVID-19 'game changer' already in short supply after US President Donald Trump says hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine are possible treatments for COVID-19 during his daily televised news briefings, demand skyrockets, and the drugs quickly go into shortage.
March 24 ¡ª A man in US state of Arizona dies after ingesting a non-medication form of chloroquine phosphate in an attempt to prevent himself from contracting COVID-19.
March 26 ¡ª India bans exports of hydroxychloroquine to ensure the country has its own stable supply of the drug.
March 28 ¡ª US' Food and Drug Administration grants emergency use authorization to allow patients with COVID-19 to be treated with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine.
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April 7 ¡ª India lifts its export ban on hydroxychloroquine after President Donald Trump threatens retaliation against the country.
April 10 ¡ª Some experts on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic express concern that using hydroxychloroquine could do more harm than good.
April 13 ¡ª A small study in Brazil testing the effectiveness of chloroquine in treating COVID-19 patients ends after patients taking a higher dose of the drug develop irregular heart rates.
April 22 ¡ª Hydroxychloroquine shows no benefit for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in a study conducted by the Veterans Health Administration.
April 24 ¡ª The FDA issues a warning against using hydroxychloroquine outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial due to the risk of serious heart problems.
April 29 ¡ª Demand for hydroxychloroquine falls significantly as hospitals become more wary of using the drug after more public health officials warn of serious side effects.
May 25 - WHO effectively suspends testing the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in coronavirus patients due to safety concerns.
