The World Health Organisation (WHO) is at it again. The Specialised UN agency that has been at the forefront of China’s to mislead the world about the Coronavirus Pandemic from the very beginning. And of late, it has started targeting India’s Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), which is being touted as a cure for COVID-19.
The WHO has been halting HCQ trials every time the anti-malarial drug makes rapid strides in its credibility. Now, the WHO has stopped the trials of HCQ and combination of HIV drug lopinavir/ ritonavir for the treatment of Wuhan virus patients.
The WHO stated, “These interim trial results show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalised COVID-19 patients when compared to the standard of care. Solidarity trial investigators will interrupt the trials with immediate effect.”
Meanwhile, the WHO has stated that the suspension of the trial will not affect other studies where the drugs are being used for non-hospitalised patients or as prophylaxis.
WHO’s remarks and decision to halt HCQ trials reek of bias and prejudice. India happens to be the biggest exporter of the anti-malarial drug and has also been using the drug extensively in Coronavirus treatment within the country.
India’s recovery rate has shot up to over 60 per cent owing to the extensive of HCQ. A total of 4,24,891 out of nearly 7,00,000 infected patients have recovered.
In fact, recently, India’s recovery rate surpassed the global average. Contrary to what the WHO has to say, this couldn’t have been achieved without the use of the anti-malarial drug.
Not just the higher recovery rate, India has also managed to ensure that its doctors are protected from COVID-19 infection and casualties.
As per the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 80 per cent of the healthcare workers who have been given six or more prophylactic HCQ doses have not been infected.
But this is not the first time that the WHO has suspended HCQ trials at a time when the credibility of the anti-malarial drug as a potential Coronavirus cure gained momentum.
In May, the Lancet, one of the world’s most respected medical journals, published a sub-standard study which claimed that consumption of HCQ actually increased the death rate among COVID-19 patients.
The WHO had found an opportunity to cast aspersions on the anti-malarial drug straightaway. Relying on the Lancet study, it had halted the HCQ trials.
Later, the WHO was left red-faced when it was found that the Lancet study authored by cardiologist Mandeep Mehra, Desai, and Zurich cardiologist Frank Ruschitzka. WHO was then forced to resume the HCQ solidarity trial after it halted the same on May 22.
There is an ongoing conspiracy of sorts against HCQ. The Big Pharma is betting on Remdisivir, a freshly patented and expensive drug. The Big Pharma is, of course, perturbed by India’s generic drug market. And HCQ offers a cost-effective solution as opposed to the unaffordable and expensive drugs that the Big Pharma has to offer.
Ever since the HCQ started garnering attention as a potential COVID-19 cure, a vocal campaign started to tarnish its image.
The US President Donald Trump himself has been encouraging the use of HCQ in COVID-19 treatment. Leading American doctor and robotic surgeon, Dr. David Samadi too has exposed the coordinated campaign against HCQ.
.@CNN, you need to explain this. pic.twitter.com/q7HrvSwhz6
— Dr. David Samadi (@drdavidsamadi) July 5, 2020
WHO has been making horrible suggestions right from condemning imposing travel restrictions against China from where the virus started spreading, advising against the use of masks and promoting defective Chinese testing kits by saying “test test test”.
India has not cared much for the biased organisation and the ICMR has formulated an indigenous strategy that has proved far more successful. In all likelihood, the Modi government will continue to stick with HCQ despite WHO’s prejudicial remarks.
