There is no clear evidence of Hydroxychloroquine being effective in curing COVID-19 and it is surprising that Bosnia’s institutions signed off on the country receiving a donation of the drug while media described it as one of the most effective treatments for the disease, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) said in a statement on Saturday.
The statement came after Bosnia’s Ministry of Civil Affairs signed an agreement with SANDOZ (Lek Pharmaceuticals dd, a Sandoz company) according to which the company will donate 22,800 Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate pills to the country.
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The drug was described in the media as one of the most effective medicine for curing Covid-19 and BHAAS said this information is incomplete and partially true.
It said that the US Federal Drug Administration has not yet approved any drug for preventing and treating Covid-19.
“At the same time, experts have stressed that not only does this drug not have any confirmed beneficial effect, but it can be very dangerous. Hydroxychloroquine can be used in clinical trials with a clear emphasis on possible side effects and with the clear consent of the patient or their family,” the BHAAAS said.
The drug is for years being used for treating malaria, rheumatic arthritis and systemic lupus, it said, adding that the idea that it could be useful for treating Covid-19 is based on laboratory experimentation.
“However, it can not yet be proven that this drug has a similar effect within the human organism for treating Covid-19,” it said.
The Association mentioned that a total of seven studies on the effects of the drug on humans has been published since April 21 this year and that they found no “clear evidence of its positive effect” for treating the virus.
“On the contrary, some of these studies reported higher mortality associated with the use of this drug. Experiments with this drug have been halted in France, Brazil and Sweden due to frequent side effects, so we are surprised that Bosnia’s state institutions have so swiftly signed an agreement on this donation, and that the media announced that this is one of the most effective drugs in the treatment of Covid -19 ‘,” BHAAAS said.
“This is the current stance of respectable world health organisations which deal with this burning issue,” it said, adding that future experimental research could also prove it wrong.
