New study says Trump-backed hydroxychloroquine no better than placebo
Hydroxychloroquine
As US President Donald Trump continues to back the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment to novel coronavirus, a new study has claimed that the drug does not avoid infection in a statistically meaningful way.
The study led by a team at the University of Minnesota has also claimed that hydroxychloroquine is no significantly better than a placebo when it comes to coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the White House said that President Trump remains healthy and free of any side-effects of hydroxychloroquine.
As many as 821 people across the United States and Canada were part of this study that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Adults who were part of this study were those who came in contact with someone who had a confirmed case of COVID-19 for more than 10 minutes at a distance of six feet (about two meters) or less.
At least 719 people out of the total 821, were put under the category of "high-risk" exposure because they wore neither a face mask nor an eye shield at the time of their contact and were closer to a distance of two feet with the infected patient for more than 10 minutes.
The remaining people belonged to the "moderate-risk" category as they covered themselves with masks, but not with eyewear.
The participants were randomly given hydroxychloroquine, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus -- or a placebo, within four days of their exposure to the virus.
About 107 participants developed COVID-19 in the 14-day period.
Among those who received the anti-malarial drug, 49 developed COVID-19 or compatible symptoms such as fever or cough, while those who took a placebo, 58 of them developed coronavirus symptoms.
Two people in each group were hospitalised, however, none of the infected persons died.
Also, the participants that took HCQ had a higher rate of reporting side-effects such as nausea and stomach pain, which was 40 %, while the placebo's side effects were 17 %.
"This randomized trial did not demonstrate a significant benefit of hydroxychloroquine as postexposure prophylaxis for COVID-19," the authors of the study wrote.