DOST: Philippines will conduct study if VCO can stop COVID-19

The Philippines will hold another trial to check if the virgin coconut oil (VCO) can prevent COVID-19, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) said Wednesday.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Health Research Development executive director Jaime Montoya said it [the study] makes sense as the VCO trials showed the oil reduced the coronavirus count by 60 to 90 percent among mild COVID-19 cases.

“‘Yun po ay gagawin namin pero ang disenyo po niya iba kasi kailangan ang kukunin… mga volunteer na wala pang COVID pero maari na-expose o nasa isang lugar na maraming COVID at titingnan natin kung sila ay magkakaroon,” he said.

(We will do this, but the process will be different because we need volunteers who are not positive for coronavirus but were already exposed. And we’ll see if they will get infected.)

“At usually ito po ay ginagawa, at iniisip natin base sa disenyo na ito na ia-apply sa ilong o sa bibig kasi doon po unang pumapasok ang virus” (We’re thinking that the VCO can be applied in the nose or the mouth because that’s where the virus enters), he added.

Montoya said the trial, which is done by the Philippine General Hospital, is currently checking the effectiveness of the VCO on moderate to severe cases.

Earlier, DOST Undersecretary Rowena Guevarra said the DOST will be able to report to the public the results of the previous trial on VCO by the end of October or early November.

Meanwhile, Montoya clarified that the VCO is an approved food supplement.

“Pero hindi po ito… for COVID-19. Para lang mapalakas ang katawan niyo… Pero ito po ay kung maganda po ang magiging resulta at aaprubahan ng FDA ay mabibigyan na siya ng what we call limited indication for COVID-19,” he said.

(VCO is not for COVID-19. It’s for you to get healthier. But if the results of the trials are good and it will get approved by the FDA, it will be given a limited indication for COVID-19.) —LBG, GMA News