Researchers in Australia are preparing to trial unproven anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine on healthcare workers despite public health officials warning it may be dangerous.
Earlier this week Donald Trump revealed he is taking the drug as a precaution to protect himself against coronavirus but it is commonly prescribed to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
There is no evidence hydroxychloroquine can fight coronavirus, and regulators warn the drug may cause heart problems. A previous trials on Covid-19 patients who used it as a treatment found they developed serious heart rhythm problems and rapid heart rates which can be fatal.
Dr Marcos Espinal, director of the Pan American Health Organization – part of the World Health Organization (WHO) – has also stressed that no clinical trials have recommended the use of the drug for coronavirus.
Researchers from Melbourne’s Walter and Eliza Hall institute will run a four month trial, called COVID SHIELD, on around 2,250 hospital and healthcare workers from around the country.
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For the duration of the experiment, half of the workers will be given hydroxychloroquine and the other half will be given a placebo.
The Australian study aims to test how effective it is at preventing someone from contracting the disease.
President Trump, 73, announced on Monday that he has been taking the drug despite his own government’s warning that it should only be administered for coronavirus in a hospital or research setting.
In April, the US’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of the drug’s side effects, and that it has ‘not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing Covid-19’.
The president was hosting a meeting devoted to the struggling restaurant industry when he caught reporters off-guard by revealing he was taking the drug.
‘You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers before you catch it, the frontline workers, many, many are taking it,’ he told reporters. ‘I happen to be taking it.’
Royal Melbourne Hospital rheumatologist Ian Wicks, one of the researchers leading the Australian trial, said the drug’s side effects were uncommon amid claims some overseas studies have shown it can prevent the virus from entering cells in lab conditions.
‘Rheumatologists are very comfortable with the drug’s safety profile,’ Professor Wicks told ABC News.
‘The medical specialists conducting COVID SHIELD are highly experienced in using hydroxychloroquine in the clinic. All participants will be screened based on rigorous selection criteria and closely monitored throughout the trial to ensure safety.’
A day after Trump made his revelation, the FDA softened its stance on the drug, saying the decision to take the prescription drug is between a patient and their doctor.
Meanwhile in response, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said ‘It is not something which our own medical experts are recommending.’
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