WHO Expects Interim Results From Clinical Drug Trials For COVID Treatment Within Two Weeks

The WHO Director General added that while a potential vaccine might show its effectiveness by year’s end, the major question lay as to how soon it could be mass produced

(File Photo/ AFP)

In what comes as a news which could bring in much hope and relief for the global community which is battling the relentless attack of the corona-virus pandemic on a war footing, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the UN health body should soon get desired results from clinical trials it is conducting of drugs that might be effective in treating COVID-19 patients. “Nearly 5,500 patients in 39 countries have so far been recruited into the Solidarity trial,” he told a news briefing, referring to clinical studies the U.N. agency is conducting. “We expect interim results within the next two weeks.” The Solidarity Trial started out in five parts looking at possible treatment alternatives to COVID-19: standard care; remdesivir; the anti-malaria drug touted by U.S. President Donald Trump, hydroxychloroquine; the HIV drugs lopinavir/ritonavir; and lopanivir/ritonavir combined with interferon. The WHO Director General added that while a potential vaccine might show its effectiveness by year’s end, the major question lay as to how soon it could be mass produced With the pandemic already accounting for more than lakh lives, there is no proven vaccine against the health catostrophe now, while 18 potential candidates are being tested on humans. WHO officials defended their response to the virus that emerged in China last year, saying they had been driven by the science as it developed. Ryan said what he regretted was that global supply chains had broken, depriving medical staff of protective equipment. “I regret that there wasn’t fair, accessible access to COVID tools. I regret that some countries had more than others, and I regret that front-line workers died because of (that),” he said.