Social media posts claim Chloroquine, an antimalarial drug can cure #COVID19.
No health authorities have certified Chloroquine as a cure for coronavirus. WHO, the foremost authority on the subject, according to the Director-General of the body, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says while the organisation is currently conducting a number of drug trials, it does not expect a result before three weeks. More so, the “malarial Chloroquine used in China was not one of the drugs.”
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Yesterday, the most trending tweets featured the hashtag CHLOROQUINE.
The thread indicates that Chloroquine which is an anti-malarial drug and autoimmune disease drug is a proven cure for covid-19 (Coronavirus).
We traced what may be the source of this dialogue to Verified Twitter page, China Science.
Similarly, news site, Coinspeaker published a report saying: China Approves Favipiravir as Potent Treatment against New Coronavirus COVID-19 Strain.
Verification
Dubawa currently awaits a response to emails sent to representatives of the WHO, CDC and NCDC.
Dubawa checks found not only Chloroquine Phosphate as the only purported remedial treatments for coronavirus, but reports also named Favipiravir and Remdesivir.
Global Times China and China Science on their verified Twitter handle attested to the fact that Chloroquine Phosphate an anti-malaria treatment drug has proven effective in treating Covid-19. The tweet says:
Treatment not definitive
It is essential to note the phrase “clinical effects” does not necessarily indicate a definite cure; but rather a potential solution to the virus. The post surmises Chloroquine Phosphate as a likely remedy to Covid-10, not a confirmed treatment.
A report by Clinical Trials says Chloroquine yields positive data in Covid-19 trial.
Another report says a group of researchers who have researched (Vitro cell research) on the disease outbreak, tested several antivirals in the lab for effectiveness against covid-19. The result was that Remdesivir stopped the virus from replicating in a lab dish. Further, the group found that Chloroquine was effective in preventing the infection from spreading in human cells in the lab. The researchers gave their feedback in a report published by the journal Cell Research.
Their findings conclude that Remdesivir and Chloroquine are highly effective in the control of covid-19 infection in vitro (laboratory-controlled conditions).
Research Efforts
Interestingly, a report by BBC News Pidgin noted the group found Remdesivir and Chloroquine as capable of blocking the virus infection at low-micromolar concentration. BBC Pidgin even released the names of the Chinese researchers:
- Manli Wang
- Ruiyuan Cao
- Leike Zhang
- Xinglou Yang
- Jia Liu
- Mingyue Xu
- Zhengli Shi
- Zhihong Hu
- Wu Zhong &
- Gengfu Xiao
In the report, a medical expert says the research findings are not strange to science; still, the claims of the Covid-19 response group will need higher authorities such as WHO for authenticity and mainstream application.
New Turn in Events
On 20th February, CNBC published a report claiming that the World Health Organisation expects preliminary results from two clinical trials. The story went on to state that these trials scheduled in three weeks are potential treatments for the virus.
It stated that one trial combines HIV drugs Lopinavir and Ritonavir; while the other is testing U.S.-based biotech Gilead Sciences’ antiviral Remdesivir. The Lead for clinical management in the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Janet Diaz said that there are currently no proven therapies for the new virus. Additionally, she said there is no proof to claims by some scientists that Chloroquine, can be a potential treatment for the infection.
Similarly, Guardian (international edition) says that Doctors are looking into HIV and Ebola drugs for coronavirus cure, but results are not expected before March.
Potential treatment
Pointing to Remdesivir, one of the drugs under trial, The Guardian notes that Gilead, the manufacturers, had tested Remdesivir during the Ebola outbreak in the Republic of the Congo in 2018, with only limited cheering results; although it accepts that for now, the drug holds a pole position in the race for a solution to Covid-19. “The new trial of remdesivir will be “gold standard” and investigate how well it works in moderately and severely ill patients compared with others given a placebo,” reports the Guardian.
Meanwhile, WHO which has set a three-week result timeline for drug tests its research and development experts are executing, clarifies that the anti-malarial Chloroquine used in China was not one of the drugs in trials, according to its director-general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
There are many studies underway that show a clear benefit from chloroquine. Just because the WHO hasn’t endorsed it means little.
You need to scratch your bold proclamation as it appears you haven’t done a simple google search that promptly brought up… https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1232869/
You need to change your title or remove it entirely as it makes it appear it is a hoax when indeed there is science behind it. I’d gladly take chloroquine vs a vaccine any day…. here’s a reliable source. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1232869/
It is pertinent to note that there is a huge difference between potential treatment and concluded cure. Moreover, the coronavirus referred to here is not the SARS-Cov of 2002 but SARS-Cov2 (Covid-19), of which Chloroquine is certainly not a cure. In science and medicine, when a drug shows certain effects under one laboratory study, it is not law. This is the reason for drug testing and clinics trials, of which said drug is passed through several control groups to rule out “fluke” for lack of a better term. There are several factors under play to how a drug reacts with a person, their DNA, pre-existing conditions, immune system, to mention a few have to be considered.
If and when, new research comes into light that disputes this, per our transparency policy, we will update this fact-check. Truth is as they say subjective, especially in the world of journalism, so what holds true today could in fact tomorrow, be outdated. We are good with that.
The subjective truth is that the French and Australians have employed a cure. What does the “world of journalism” have to do with your negativity?
The fact that WHO did not include Chloroquine in their trials is insufficient to conclude that Chloroquine may not have a potential cure. The Chinese and Koreans are likely ahead of the race in ongoing research and trials for a cure and we should not simply discount their findings on Chloroquine …
Below is an except from another article on Chloroquine as a potential cure for Corona Virus symptoms.
“According to ongoing research (reported in Clinical Trials Arena),
“Data from the drug’s [chloroquine] studies showed ‘certain curative effect’ with ‘fairly good efficacy’ … patients treated with chloroquine demonstrated a better drop in fever, improvement of lung CT images, and required a shorter time to recover compared to parallel groups. The percentage of patients with negative viral nucleic acid tests was also higher with the anti-malarial drug… Chloroquine has so far shown no obvious serious adverse reactions in more than 100 participants in the trials… Chloroquine was selected after several screening rounds of thousands of existing drugs. Chloroquine is undergoing further trials in more than ten hospitals in Beijing, Guangdong province and Hunnan province.”[6]”
https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/e/2PACX-1vTi-g18ftNZUMRAj2SwRPodtscFio7bJ7GdNgbJAGbdfF67WuRJB3ZsidgpidB2eocFHAVjIL-7deJ7/pub
Don’t say it does NOT work until you KNOW it doesn’t. The jury is out.
The UN is hardly a foremost authority on anything. One would think that the WHO would be in contact with the French and Australians on this – instead of dismissing the news out of hand.
WHO is run by big corporate pharmaceutical companies and chloroquine phosphate is off patent. New drug and new vaccines would be protected profits. Everyone wants to make a buck. Now we are worried about gouging on dust masks yet nobody says a thing when CDC and FDA and WHO are all liars that protect the corporate profits.
It absolutely is a cure, showing AMAZINGLY positive results in patients with coronavirus! #StopSpreadingFakeNews
Your credibility is shot after this article.