36 more patients join WHO’s clinical trials in PH for COVID-19 cure: DOH
Posted at May 17 2020 03:13 PM
MANILA – Thirty-six more patients have been included in the World Health Organization-backed clinical trials in the Philippines for a COVID-19 cure, the Department of Health said Sunday.
As of Saturday, 117 COVID-19 patients in 14 hospitals in Metro Manila and 1 in Davao City are enrolled in the WHO’s Solidarity Trial, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
The Philippines is among some 100 countries that are participating in the clinical trial, which involves the testing of off-label drugs that have shown some evidence of effectivity against COVID-19.
These drugs include: (1) remdesivir, (2) lopinavir and ritonavir combined, (3) lopinavir and ritonavir plus interferon beta, and (4) chloroquine.
A full shipment of remdesivir “was already delivered,” Vergeire said.
The Philippines has so far recorded 12,305 cases of COVID-19, with 2,561 recoveries and 817 deaths, as of May 16.
