COVID-19: ICMR has approved the use of malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as prophylactic. The National Task Force for COVID-19 constituted by Indian Council of Medical Research has just recommended the use of anti malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a prophylactic for high-risk populations such as those in close contact with confirmed cases.
This means, Asymptomatic health care workers in close contact with cases of laboratory confirmed COVID-19.
Asymptomatic close contacts (like household contacts) of positive COVID-19 cases.
While the ICMR advisory also clarifies that this new treatment should be used as an addition to the already existing public health and hygiene guidelines, here's why it is highly problematic. The noise around choloquine has been building up for a few days based on a small French study and the US President Donald Trump himself. Hard- selling the drug in a press conference, he said, "We're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately, and that's where the FDA has been so great. They've gone through the approval process, it's been approved."
Here's the problem. The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved the drug for use, it has approved the drug for trials.
During the same press briefing, US Food and Drug Administration director Dr Stephen Hahn clarified that the drugs will be used in a clinical trial.
Dr Stephen Hahn, Director, US FDA"What's also important is not to provide false hope. We may have the right drug, but it might not be in the appropriate dosage form right now, and it might do more harm than good."
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