To pop or not to pop? It’s a question people have of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial pill touted as pop-worthy against covid-19.
But the dilemma has also been faced by the World Health Organization (WHO). It can's seem to decide whether to carry on with its trials as an anti-covid drug, or not.
Days after halting this exercise, the WHO is reported to have resumed it, citing the all-clear of a safety review. It had suspended it once a research paper in The Lancet raised concerns that HCQ could cause cardiac problems and raise covid mortality risk.
But that paper has also drawn some flak since, prompting the journal to issue an “expression of concern" over the study’s rigour.