(Image source from: Cidrap.umn.edu)
The drug that US President Donald Trump took pride in, Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), failed yet another clinical trial to prove its efficiency in treating the novel coronavirus disease, otherwise known as Covid-19.
The reports came in after the infected patients administered with the drug didn’t showcase any changes to their symptoms.
This observational trial was published in New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) and proved that HCQ had failed to stand up to the needs of the respiratory assistance that the Covid-19 patients needed for their recovery.
The drug also didn’t have any altering impacts on the death toll. But, the NEJM study also proved that the administration of the drug didn’t impose any kind of harmful impacts on the body of the patients.
The study included administration of the HCQ drug on 1,376 patients in Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, both in New York City in the United States, which is the epicentre of the virus at the moment.
“There was no significant association between hydroxychloroquine use and intubation or death,” stated the reports from the study.
The US Food and Drug Administration has however warned the citizens against the intake of HCQ without doctor’s advice or without any prescriptions. The same was stated after the FDA found series side effects of “heart rhythm problems” in the patients who were administered with the drug.
Now, this study has reported that the drug doesn’t necessarily impose any side effects, which is quite surprising.
Aside from that, it is extremely important to understand that the observational studies don’t blend along the similar road as the Randomised-Controlled Trials (RCTs). The NEJM study further asserted the fact that the effectiveness of HCQ could only be established with rigorous clinical trials being conducted. This specific study was funded by the US National Institute of Health.
The US House of Representatives has just last month passed a relief bill amounting to $484 billion that would help support the small businesses, hospitals and the Covid-19 testing.
Trump has reported that has is grateful for the action by the House of Representatives and would be signing the bill by next week. President Donald Trump has also insinuated that the country is very close to developing a vaccine.
"We have a lot of great, brilliant minds working on this. Unfortunately we`re not very close to testing because when testing starts it takes a period of time, but we`ll get it done," Trump said.
With the success witnessed under the clinical trials of Remdesivir led by Gilead Sciences, US is now pushing this drug for the treatment of Covid-19 and this is the first drug that has gotten the emergency use authorisation in US for the treatment process.
- Somapika Dutta
