WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that the organisation has temporarily suspended tests on the malarial drug as a possible cure/vaccine for coronavirus. In a press appearance online, Tedros was heard saying, “The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity trial while the safety data is reviewed by the data safety monitoring board”, wherein the Solidarity trial refers to the clinical testing for the potential use of the drug as a coronavirus vaccine.
These announcements come after US President Donald Trump has claimed that hydroxychloroquine could be a potential cure for the disease, although he claims that he has stopped taking it ever since.
In an online briefing, Mike Ryan, WHO’s head of emergencies warned the world in terms of there being a potential second wave. He also said that discussions are underway with China in terms of the origin of the virus, although there has been no set date for launching a scientific investigation on the country. Ryan also urged the countries to continue being on the lookout for infections, despite the death rates dropping worldwide.
To date, more than 5.4 million infections have been confirmed worldwide since the virus first emerged in December of last year, with over 345,000 deaths globally.