WHO tests three drugs for COVID-19

Geneva [Switzerland] August 12 (ANI/FENA): The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that it will soon test three drugs used for other diseases to find out if they can help patients with coronavirus.

The UN Public Health Agency said in a statement today that the three drugs would be included in the next phase of the current global study of potential treatments for COVID-19. The drugs were selected by an independent commission based on the likelihood that they could prevent deaths in people hospitalized for coronavirus.

These include artesunate, a malaria drug, the cancer drug imatinib, and infliximab, which is currently used in people with immune system disease. The current WHO study on COVID-19 treatments previously included four drugs. Among the findings, the agency found that remdesivir and hydroxychloroquine did not help people hospitalized for coronavirus. The WHO survey includes thousands of investigators in hundreds of hospitals in 52 countries.

“Finding more effective and affordable drugs for patients with COVID-19 remains crucial,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (ANI/FENA)