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UW study to test hydroxychloroquine ends, researchers say does not slow spread of COVID-19

SEATTLE — According to researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine, hydroxychloroquine does not offer any benefit in preventing COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

Researchers said, “People who have had close contact with someone with confirmed COVID-19 infection and who took hydroxychloroquine were just as likely to get COVID-19 as were those who received a placebo,” and that’s according to preliminary data from a large randomized and controlled trial.

Earlier this year, researchers launched the study to find treatments and cures for patients exposed to the infection.

The study was developed to determine whether a treatment combining a low dose of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin could prevent hospitalization and death in people with COVID-19, officials said.

The goal was to determine if the drug prevented the virus from entering human cells.

“The additional data we have today provides strong evidence that hydroxychloroquine offers no benefit in preventing people from developing COVID-19 with a 14-day treatment course,” said lead researcher Dr. Ruanne Barnabas, an associate professor of medicine and global health at UW School of Medicine.

Officials said nearly 800 people participated in the trial. All had a family member or another close contact who tested positive for the virus.

Hydroxychloroquine received considerable hype earlier this year as a potential treatment for COVID-19, even being touted by President Donald Trump.

The results were presented Saturday at IDWeek and are expected to be reported in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted emergency-use authorization for hydroxychloroquine in treating some hospitalized COVID-19 patients but its use was canceled in June over safety concerns and evidence that showed the lack of its effectiveness.