Written by Saina Doval – a grade 5 student.

Corona Corona everywhere ! 

But did you ever think that an anti-malaria drug could possibly prevent the deadly coronavirus? Well, that’s what many people think!

First of all, let me tell you what hydroxychloroquine is. It is an anti-malaria drug commonly used to prevent and treat malaria (a disease caused by the bite of mosquitos ). Hydroxychloroquine causes some side effects like headaches, dizziness, and diarrhoea. Published literature suggests that hydroxychloroquine can be a  preventative for coronavirus. The  World Health Organization (WHO) also suggested that hydroxychloroquine could possibly be a cure. They first started a trial to test its efficacy, but later paused this trial for safety concerns, according to Dr. Mike Ryan. However,  later many reports suggested that it might not be a cure, but may have some potential to be a prevention for coronavirus. After this news the US president, Mr. Donald Trump also started to eat it as prophylaxis (meaning treatment). Some hospitals in India are also giving hydroxychloroquine to the front-line doctors as a preventative measure. The US has planned to import this drug from India and many countries are now giving this drug to their front-line healthcare workers.

There is still no consensus regarding the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a preventative or curative drug. There are also many concerns regarding the safety of this drug. 

Written by Saina Doval – a grade 5 student.

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