Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

World Health Organisation warns countries not to treat Covid-19 patients with unproven medicine amid scramble for a cure

History of medicine abounds with ‘examples of drugs that worked on paper or in a test tube but were actually harmful’, WHO chief says. Warning comes as cases of the respiratory ailment caused by the coronavirus surge worldwide

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday warned governments against treating infected coronavirus patients with medications not scientifically proven to fight the pathogen.

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued the warning as cases of Covid-19, the respiratory ailment caused by the coronavirus that emerged in China late last year, surged worldwide, prompting health authorities to scramble to find treatments.

“We call on all individuals and countries to refrain from using therapeutics that have not been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of Covid-19,” Tedros said. “The history of medicine is strewn with examples of drugs that worked on paper, or in a test tube, but didn't work in humans, or were actually harmful.”

“During the most recent Ebola epidemic, for example, some medicines that were thought to be effective were found not to be as effective as other medicines, when they were compared during a clinical trial,” he said. “We must follow the evidence. There are no short cuts.”

Tedros did not name any individuals, including US President Donald Trump, who came under criticism for touting chloroquine – a medicine for malaria – as a treatment for Covid-19 patients.

Trump defended his aim to start using the medicine regardless of the WHO warning.

Asked in a White House briefing about whether he would continue pushing chloroquine as a treatment, Trump said: “We have people dying now.”

“If we're going to go into labs and test all of this for a long time, we can test it on people right now who are in serious trouble who would dying,” Trump said. “If it works, we've done a great thing. If it doesn't work, you know, we tried.”

The US leader began pushing for chloroquine as a treatment last week.

In a press briefing on March 19, Trump, referring to the medication, said: “Normally the [US Food and Drug Administration] would take a long time to approve something like that, and it was approved very, very quickly and it's now approved, by prescription.”

Soon after Trump’s comments, the FDA said that chloroquine had not been approved for treating Covid-19 and that more tests were needed to determine its safety and effectiveness.

A day later, US infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said evidence that chloroquine worked against Sars-CoV-2, the scientific name for the new coronavirus, was “anecdotal”.

The effort to prove the medication’s efficacy against the contagion, he said, “was not done in a controlled clinical trial, so you really can’t make any definitive statement about it”.

Many US media outlets have reported shortages of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, a newer derivative of chloroquine that is also used for malaria, since Covid-19 cases began to surge in the country.

Tedros also warned that “off-label” usage of medication – the prescribing of sanctioned drugs for other, unapproved purposes – to treat Covid-19 potentially threatens the health of many individuals not infected with the new illness.

“We need to ensure that using unproven drugs does not create a shortage of those medicines to treat diseases for which they have proven effective,” the head of the UN agency said in the briefing.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Accuses US of Violating Trade Truce
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
France Implements Nationwide Outdoor Smoking Ban to Protect Children
German Chancellor Merz Keeps Putin Guessing on Missile Strategy
Mandelson Criticizes UK's 'Fetish' for Abandoning EU Regulations
British Fishing Boat Owner Fined €30,000 by French Authorities
Dutch government falls as far-right leader Wilders quits coalition
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
×