Taiwan trials of hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus find no significant medical benefit

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/28
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced on Tuesday (26) that clinical trials of an anti-malarial drug Trump had touted as a "miracle cure" for Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) have shown no significant improvement over other medications, while the risks of side effects are higher.

After touting the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine for months as a "miracle cure" for COVID-19, Trump last week revealed that he was taking the drug daily to protect him from contracting the virus. However, on Monday (May 25), the World Health Organization (WHO) halted clinical trials of the drug after a study published in the Lancet medical journal on May 22 found that patients were more likely to die if they took the medication.

When asked on Tuesday to comment on the reports, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Advisory Specialist Panel Convener and infectious disease specialist Chang Shan-chwen (張上淳) said that because most patients in Taiwan have a mild form of the disease, studies have been carried out on the drug to see if it would shorten the time it takes for a patient to go from testing positive to testing negative. However, the results of the clinical trials found that there was no significant difference with patients who received different medications, and the CECC is considering adjusting guidelines as a result.  [FULL  STORY]