Respite may be on the way for persons infected with coronavirus as The US has approved the anti-malarial drug chloroquine for use as a treatment against the new dreaded virus.
President Donald Trump made the disclosure on Thursday.
Trump announced at a White House press briefing that chloroquine, a drug designed for use in malaria, has been FDA approved and will be made available by prescription “almost immediately.” He said it was one of a number of antiviral therapies to limit the symptoms of the virus that the administration is trying to get to Americans as quickly as possible.
“I have directed the FDA to eliminate rules and bureaucracy so work can proceed rapidly, quickly and fast,” he said. “We have to remove every barrier.”
Addressing potential safety concerns, Trump noted that it had been used previously in treating malaria, “so we know if things don’t go as planned, it’s not going to kill anybody.” He said it had shown “very encouraging” early results.
He also said another drug, remdesivir, would be made available to Americans as well by the process of “compassionate use.” He said it would remain to be seen whether it would help combat the crisis.
“We’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately, and that’s where the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has been so great,” Trump told reporters.
“They’ve gone through the approval process – it’s been approved. They took it down from many, many months to immediate. So we’re going to be able to make that drug available by prescription”.
Globally, the virus has infected 184,976 people and killed just over 7,500, according to the WHO. Almost 80,000 people have recovered from the infection, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
Nigeria on Thursday confirmed four new cases of the virus bring to 12 the total number of people infected by the virus.
With AFP report
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