The World Health Organization (WHO) has temporarily suspended a clinical trial of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine in Covid-19 patients over safety concerns, according to the organisation’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The move comes after data from an observational study published in The Lancet journal revealed a higher mortality rate in patients treated with hydroxycholoroquine when given alone or with a macrolide.
During the observational study, hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine were assessed for their effects on hospitalised Covid-19 patients.