Ibuprofen aggravating COVID-19? No enough evidence yet, says DOH exec

There is currently no scientific evidence supporting the claim that ibuprofen causes harm to persons exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire on Thursday.

"Wala pa ho tayong enough evidence to say if it really causes harm o nakapagpapasama sa katawan ng isang may COVID-19," she said in an interview on GMA News' Unang Balita.

She added that even the World Health Organization (WHO) has not released an official position yet regarding the matter.

"Ang payo po ng kagawaran ng kalusugan, kung kayo po ay may lagnat, paracetamol na muna po ang inumin natin," Vergeire said.

"Ngayon po, kung kayo po ay umiinom ng ibuprofen huwag ninyo pong ititigil hangga't hindi ipinapayo ng inyong mga doktor. Kailangan ninyong tanungin ang doktor ninyo kung kailangan pa o hindi," she added.

Earlier this week, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the organization is looking into a medical hypothesis that was published in a journal which claims that an enzyme boosted by anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen could facilitate and worsen COVID-19 infections.

"In the meantime, we recommend using rather paracetamol, and do not use ibuprofen as a self-medication. That's important," Lindmeier said.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines reached 202 on Wednesday, with 17 deaths.

An enhanced community quarantine is being implemented over Luzon to prevent the further spread of the virus. — RSJ, GMA News