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Philippines to stop giving hydroxychloroquine to COVID-19 patients


The Philippines will stop giving anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to COVID-19 patients as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Department of Health said Tuesday.

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire made the announcement a day after the WHO disclosed that it is suspending administering hydroxychloroquine as treatment to  COVID-19 patients on clinical trial since a safety review is underway.

“Of course, we follow WHO guidelines on this because this is a part of the WHO solidarity trial. This morning, nagpalabas na po ng sulat ang aming proponent at ipinadala sa aking opisina, stating that we are pulling out [of the solidarity trial on hydroxychloroquine],” Vergeire said in a DOH media forum.

“We are stopping from giving this to our COVID-19 patients because of the WHO’s advice,” Vergeire added.

Vergeire, however, did not disclose hydroxychloroquine’s effect on COVID-19 patients who used the said medicine, if there are any.

“With regard to the results [of administering it] on our patients, hindi pa po natin puwede ilabas iyan kasi we are on a clinical trial phase,” Vergeire said.

“But rest assured ititigil muna natin ang pagbibigay ng gamot na ito dahil ito po ang nirecommend ng WHO,” Vergeire added.

For his part, Food and Drug Administration Director General Eric Domingo said there were patients in earlier studies who responded well to hydroxychloroquine but that the wide-scale WHO study shows possible side effects to the heart.

He said this does not necessarily mean that patients given the medicine will develop heart ailments.

“Hindi naman, kung hindi na sila nagkaroon nung time na they were undergoing treatment for it and then they recovered, wala naman pong potential na magkaroon ka nung side effect sa puso. It usually happens during the treatment,” he said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

He said the WHO will first analyze the data it has already gathered on the drug and see if it is beneficial to patients.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier appealed to the public to take care of themselves until the anti-COVID-19 vaccine comes in January 2021.

“So kung ganoon, ‘wag ka sanang mamatay hanggang January [2021[. Hintayin mo 'yung vaccine. 'Pag tinawag ka ng kamatayan, sabihin mo p— ina ka umalis ka diyan, may hinihintay ako na vaccine. Hindi ko pa panahon mamatay,” Duterte said.

The Philippines has recorded 14,319 COVID-19 cases thus far. Of this number, 3,323 recovered while 873 of them died.

The government has eased lockdown protocols since May 16, allowing 50 to 75% of the workforce per company to physically report back to work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. — RSJ, GMA News

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