TAMPA, Fla. — The race for a vaccine or treatment to fight coronavirus is heating up across the globe, but on Monday, the World Health Organization put a pause on one of the most talked-about drugs out there.
WHO is temporarily stopping its testing of hydroxychloroquine over safety concerns.
A study published Friday found the death rate climbed in hospitalized coronavirus patients taking the pill.
The drugs are approved for treating other ailments, but no tests have found them safe or effective for COVID-19.
"About 9 percent of the patients actually ended up dying once hospitalized. These were all patients who received the hydroxychloroquine within 48 hours of the diagnosis," said Dr. Amit Patel with the HCA Research Institute.
Patel is based out of Florida. He says the new study determined the drug could be deadly for patients that were hospitalized, not those taking it without ever getting the virus.
Out of more than 96,000 COVID-19 patients, almost 14,000 of them across the world were negatively impacted and more likely to die or have irregular heart beats.
"Our goal really was to see patients who are taking these medications do the same, better, or worse. For most patients, if you're not hospitalized and you're under the care of a physician, then there's no data to support that hydroxychloroquine is going to do something bad to you. Those trials are still ongoing," Patel said.
That's why the doctor says clinical trials into drugs that could treat COVID-19 at Tampa General and Sarasota Memorial Hospitals should continue.
Twenty drugs are in clinical trials right now and could help fight the virus. Some of Tampa General's frontline workers are taking hydroxychloroquine while Sarasota Memorial is using remdesivir on COVID-19 positive patients.
Patel says preliminary data shows remdesivir can shorten a seriously ill coronavirus patients' stay in the hospital.
"It's not that help isn't on the way. It really is on the way. There's a lot of patients have already benefited from the large number of clinical trials that are ongoing, and they continue to see this every week. The promise is great," Patel said.
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