In search of cure for COVID-19, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has approved the production of chloroquine for clinical trials.
The Director General of the agency, Mojisola Adeyeye, made the announcement yesterday. According to Adeyeye, NAFDAC was not approving Chloroquine for the treatment of COVlD-19 but for clinical trials to find treatment for the virus.
“NAFDAC is not approving Chloroquine as a product that can be used for Coronavirus because there is no submission to us for registration, but because it is under clinical trials, NAFDAC approves medicines meant for clinical trials. Therefore, the medicine is being approved just for the clinical trials,” she said.
Adeyeye further called on experts and researchers that were interested in doing a clinical trial on Chloroquine to approach approved outlets. “Right now, we have asked one company to make a batch of Chloroquine for the purpose of the clinical trial.”
Also, the Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) warned against the use of Chloroquine for the treatment of Coronavirus. According to the NCDC, the World Health Organization (WHO) has not approved the use of Chloroquine for the treatment of Coronavirus.
The NCDC declared: “WHO has not approved the use of Chloroquine for #COVID-19 management. Scientists are working hard to confirm the safety of several drugs for this disease. Please, do not engage in self-medication. This will cause harm and can lead to death.”
In a related development, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s Senior Special Assistant on Health, Dr Oreoluwa Finnih also warned against indiscriminate use of Chloroquine for the prevention of Coronavirus. He said some hospitals in the state were now receiving patients suffering from Chloroquine poisoning.
She urged people against massive consumption of Chloroquine as a measure to fight Coronavirus. According to her, there is a lot of unverified information in circulation about the pandemic, and that it was important for people to be sure of their facts before taking any medication.
