Indonesia, major advocate of Hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19, told by WHO to stop using it

Reuters ^ | 05/26/2020 | Kate Lamb, Tom Allard

[SeekAndFind]

The World Health Organization has urged Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest advocates of two malaria drugs to treat the coronavirus, to suspend such treatment over safety concerns, a source familiar with the advice told Reuters on Tuesday.

Any decision by Indonesia to halt use of the drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, in coronavirus patients would mark a major global shift away from a treatment which has been touted for months by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation, had told doctors to use the drugs to treat all COVID-19 patients with symptoms from mild to severe. The country has ramped up production since March, granting two dozen licenses to local manufacturers who have churned out millions of doses.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a recommendation not yet made public, said the WHO had sent a notice to Indonesia’s health ministry advising that use of the drugs should be suspended.

Erlina Burhan, a doctor who helped draft coronavirus treatment guidelines as a member of the Indonesian Association of Pulmonologists, confirmed that the association had also received new advice from the WHO to suspend use of the drugs.

“We discussed the issues and there are still some disputes. We have no conclusion yet,” she told Reuters.

A spokesperson for the WHO mission in Indonesia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Indonesia’s health ministry, Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) and the spokesman for Indonesia’s COVID-19 taskforce were not immediately available to comment.

Last week, the Lancet medical journal published the most comprehensive study to date on the drugs, which found that coronavirus patients prescribed them were more likely to experience heart rhythm disturbances and more likely to die.

[Ban Draoi Marbh Draoi]

The Indonesian government needs to take out a full page ad in their main paper that says the Indonesian equivalent of “Hey Who you want us to stop using HCQ? Stop this!!!” with a middle finger prominently displayed.

[Wonder Warthog]

"...found that coronavirus patients prescribed them were more likely to experience heart rhythm disturbances and more likely to die."

Alarmist propaganda. So there is an increase of the "heart rhythm disturances" from 0.001% to 0.002% (or whatever it really is). The MILLIONS of people who have taken it for many other diseases (like malaria) and suffered NO ill effects are a huge, huge majority.

Media lies by telling part of the truth.

[Glad2bnuts]

Fauci demanded that no drug other than AZT be used for AIDS. How did that work out?