'India is a pharma dada. We can manufacture enough for our people and for the world.'
Hydroxychloroquine has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the COVID-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York.
Trump has been aggressively promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
As the pandemic spreads and the urgency for effective treatment of COVID-19 mounts, several countries, including the US, have started relying heavily on HCQ, majorly used in the treatment of malaria and rheumatoid-arthritis.
India on Tuesday temporarily licensed the export of paracetamol and anti-malarial drug Hydroxychloroquine in appropriate quantities to some countries, which have been particularly badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
India will export anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, high in demand globally, only to foreign governments and not to private companies, as the product is under prohibited or banned category of exports, sources said. Although exports of this medicine is completely banned, India has decided to export this anti-malarial drug in sync with its global commitment to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.
India's Directorate General of Foreign Trade on March 25 banned the export of Hydroxychloroquine but said that certain shipments on humanitarian grounds may be allowed on a case-by-case basis. With more than three lakh confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and over 8,000 fatalities, the US has emerged as the worst sufferers of the deadly coronavirus diseases to which there has been no cure.
The Food and Drug Administration said its decision is based on new information, including clinical trial data results, that have led it to conclude that the drugs may not be effective to treat COVID-19 and that its potential benefits for such use do not outweigh its known and potential risks.
US President Donald Trump thanked PM Modi for lifting curbs on the export of hydroxychloroquine.
'I want to thank Prime Minister Modi of India for allowing us to have what we requested for the problem arose and he was terrific. We will remember it'
In the study, the scientists assessed the effects of the drug in two types of animal hearts, and found that it altered the timing of electrical waves that control heartbeat.
The ICMR's statement came against the backdrop of the World Health Organization (WHO) suspending the testing of the drug in COVID-19 patients temporarily in its global study following safety concerns.
Three new categories -- all asymptomatic healthcare workers working in non-COVID hospitals/areas of COVID hospitals/blocks, asymptomatic frontline workers such as surveillance workers deployed in containment zones and paramilitary/police personnel involved in COVID-19 related activities -- have now been included.
Indian Council of Medical Research had also recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases and also the asymptomatic household contacts of the lab-confirmed cases.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that in view of a paper published last week in the Lancet medical journal, that showed people taking hydroxychloroquine were at higher risk of death and heart problems than those that were not.
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Health Lav Agarwal said that India has a stock of 3.28 crore tablets of hydroxychloroquine, which is three time more than the projected requirement of one crore tablets in the country for the coming week and that tie-ups have been made for additional supply of 2 to 3 crore tablets for the future need.
The US president said that he has sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the sale of Hydroxychloroquine tablets ordered by the US to treat the growing number of coronavirus patients in his country, hours after India banned the export of the anti-malarial drug.
The US president said the drug has gotten a bad reputation only because 'he was promoting it'.
The interim findings of the trial in which the four drugs were tested in 405 hospitals across 30 countries, covering 11,266 adults, were released on 'medRxiv', a preprint server, on Thursday. The findings are under review for publication in a medical journal.
There is no evidence that the drug can fight the virus, and regulators warn it may cause heart problems.
Afghani President Ashraf Ghani took to Twitter to express his gratitude towards the government of India and the people of India for providing Afghanistan with hydroxychloroquine tablets, paracetamol tablets, and wheat.
"India shall do everything possible to help humanity's fight against COVID-19," the prime minister said.
Soon after Trump revealed to the world that he has been taking the medicine, the White House doctor said the president is in good health.
FDA said as of now it has issued an emergency use authorisation to allow hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine products donated to the Strategic National Stockpile to be distributed.
The global heath body had earlier suspended the hydroxychloroquine arm of the clinical trials of experimental COVID-19 drugs over safety concerns.
Cuomo said he will issue an executive order requiring all people in New York to wear a mask in public and the order will go into effect on April 17.
Indian Council of Medical Research Director General Balram Bhargava had on Monday recommended the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating healthcare workers handling suspected or confirmed coronavirus cases.
A trial has shown that plasma therapy does not reduce mortality or prevent progression of COVID-19.
'WHO has been under a lot of attack, so when they saw the Lancet study, they stopped the clinical trials of HCQ.' 'They should not have stopped the clinical trials.'
'She used to call me every day to check whether I was all right. You know how mothers are!'
Over 20,400 foreign nationals have been evacuated from India amid the coronavirus crisis and any decision on bringing Indians from abroad will be taken at a later stage after reviewing the situation, the government said on Friday.
The President, who has been known to mingle in crowds without covering his face, confirmed the results while wearing a mask and speaking to reporters huddled close in front of him in Brasilia.
PM Modi said that it was an honour to be a trusted partner during the pandemic adding that the two countries will continue to strengthen cooperation on healthcare.
'The only idea -- the only idea -- of the shutdown was to buy time.'
This is apart from the requirement to stock hydroxychloroquine (200 mg) and Azithromycin (500 mg) tablets for patients requiring ICU management, asymptomatic healthcare workers and asymptomatic household contacts of positive cases.
Can Interferon alfa-2b treat COVID-19 effectively?
The health ministry on Saturday recommended the use of antiviral drug remdesivir in moderate stage of COVID-19 while backtracking from its earlier stance on hydroxychloroquine, saying the anti-malarial drug should be used in the early course of the disease and not on critically ill patients.
Two Russian flights with oxygen concentrators, lung ventilation equipment, bedside monitors, medicines, including Coronavir and other essential pharmaceutical items landed in India to help the country in its fight against the COVID-19 surge.
The COVID-19 patients at high risk of hospitalisation or those with severe disease should be given a combination of two antibody treatments, according to latest World Health Organization guidelines published in The BMJ on Friday.
'Several concerns were raised with respect to the veracity of the data and analyses conducted by Surgisphere Corporation and its founder'
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