Letter.

Letter Published in The National UAE on 17May 20 Anti-malarial drug proven effective against ... malaria, not Covid-19

I write to you in reference to Coronavirus: two new studies find 'no benefit' from anti-malaria drug (May 15). What a disappointment. This article revealed that the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, on which so many politicians and some scientists had pinned their hopes for a coronavirus cure, was proven to be completely ineffective against the disease. Hydroxychloroquine is very effective against malaria, the disease it was designed to combat, but has absolutely no effect whatsoever on patients suffering from the novel coronavirus.

Now that one potential solution ended up being little more than false hope, it is time to focus the world’s efforts on other promising cures for the coronavirus, such as stem cell treatments.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru