(Image source from: forbes.com)
With the consistent rise of the coronavirus cases in the United States, the country is finding better cures for the condition. Prior reports have suggested the potency of the anti-malaria drug effective enough for the treatment.
Hydroxychloroquine has been touted effective in treating the condition of Covid-19 because of the kind of favourable results that it has brought along for 1100 of the coronavirus infected individuals in New York.
In light of that, a popular pharmaceutical company Sandoz has donated over 30 million doses of Hydroxychloroquine to the US government. The same report was clarified by President Donald Trump recently.
Even Bayer has donated 1 million doses of chloroquine to the country which are expected to be distributed among the people in the states and the cities across the country. In addition to that, Teva Pharmaceuticals is also donating 6 million doses to the US hospitals to further fight this disease.
The anti-malaria drug is being tested out on 1100 patients in New York on an experimental basis, hoping that the same will bring in positive results for the infected patients. Even Trump referred to this medication as a “gift from God”.
Addressing the issue further, Trump also clarified that the FDA has already approved the Battelle’s N95 respirator masks sterilisation kits. It has the potency of sterilising 120,000 masks.
The FDA has also issued an important advisory concerning the Hydroxychloroquine sulfate and chloroquine phosphate products that are being donated to the country to be given to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) which will then be distributed to the hospitals and the centres that are in need for the same.
These drugs are going to be distributed to the hospitals to prescribe to the Covid-19 infected patients to notice better impacts on their recovery through it.
Aside from that, EUA has also advised to make the fact sheets for the dosage and usage of the hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine phosphate to be made available to the healthcare providers for safer usage without imposing any further risks.
In the meantime, reports from the University of Washington have also reported that the researchers are looking into the potency of hydroxychloroquine as a potent prevention treatment for the novel coronavirus.
In a issued statement by the collaborative researchers on this study, the principle investigator, Ruanne Barnabas stated saying, “We currently don't know if Hydroxychloroquine works, but we will learn in as short a timeframe as possible what the outcome is.”
Her team of researchers are recruiting 2000 participants for the study who have a history of being in close contact with the Covid-19 patients or have pending Covid-19 diagnoses. This specific trial is expected to run for 8 weeks to get a better understanding of things.
Anna Bershteyn, assistant professor of population health at NYU, who is also the co-author of the study stated saying, “If Hydroxychloroquine provides protection, and then it could be an essential tool for fighting this pandemic. If it doesn't, then people should avoid unnecessary risks from taking the drug.”
Hydroxycloroquine is a drug which has been in practice since the early 1950s and has been used for the prevention of malaria and a number of autoimmune diseases. The researchers hypothesised that the medication can help with the condition of coronavirus by preventing the virus from entering the cell altogether.
By Somapika Dutta
