Posted on 05/21/2020 9:38:02 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
NHS staff are being given hydroxychloroquine to see if the anti-malaria drug stops coronavirus.
Healthcare workers from Brighton and Oxford, who are all in contact with Covid-19 patients, will be part of a global trial to test the effects of the drug.
It comes after US President Donald Trump faced a backlash this week after revealing he had been taking hydroxychloroquine, despite warnings it might be unsafe.
The first UK participants in the global trial are being enrolled today at the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals and the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.
They will be given either hydroxychloroquine or a placebo for three months.
These are the first of a planned 25 UK sites - with results expected by the end of the year.
Randomised controlled trial
Anyone giving direct care to coronavirus patients in the UK are able to take part in the trial - as long as they haven't been diagnosed with Covid-19.
The trial will test whether the drug can prevent healthcare workers exposed to the virus from becoming infected with it.
One of the study's leaders, Prof Nicholas White at the University of Oxford said: "We really do not know if chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine are beneficial or harmful against Covid-19."
However, he added that a randomised controlled trial such as this one, where neither the participant nor the researchers know who has been given the drug or a placebo, was the best way to find out.
Prof Martin Llewelyn from Brighton and Sussex Medical School, who is also leading the study, added: "A widely available, safe and effective vaccine may be a long way off.
"If drugs as well-tolerated as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine could reduce the chances of catching Covid-19, this would be incredibly valuable."
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...
I know the inevitable question from FReepers — are they taking ZINC with it the same way Trump is?
The article does not say.
Seems like this "study" is designed to fail.
Sorry, subjects, we need you to take one for The Crown so Orange Man doesn't get credit.
Oxford. Again. Trump pills mentioned, but zero mention of zinc.
Go figure.
Pelosi, “Cut all aid to any country that is giving this dangerous drug”.
“Orange man Bad”
Why didn’t these so called medical experts start a testing program months ago. What the hell are they thinking? I took this in 2006 as a preventative for malaria without any consequence.
Why didn’t these so called medical experts start a testing program months ago. What the hell are they thinking? I took this in 2006 as a preventative for malaria without any consequence.
Trust but verify
I get sick of this “Trump-touted drug” theme. Trump was “touting” it because prominent DOCTORS were touting it. The MSM make it sound like it’s something that Trump read about in an ad in the National Enquirer.
These a-holes just need to STFU. EVERY story has been the SAME words/phraseology: “Trump touted” and “unproven”. NOBODY is physiologically equal as any scientist or doctor fully is aware.
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