DOH tells public: Hold your horses

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The Department of Health yesterday warned the public against prematurely celebrating what has been dubbed as a “breakthrough” in the quest to find a treatment for COVID-19, saying the results of initial clinical trials in London are not yet conclusive.

“Yes, this is a breakthrough in science, if ever, because it will be really helpful. But we will still need to complete its processing,” said DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.

“As we have said, there is no cure yet for COVID-19. We have no treatment or vaccine for COVID-19 yet,” she added.

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Vergeire said the dexamethasone trial lacks the required “peer review” or the evaluation of fellow scientific experts regarding its efficacy and safety.

“We will have to wait for the results of the peer review before we can say this can be used to COVID-19 patients,” she said.

She also pointed out the potential treatment was only found as effective on seriously ill COVID-19 patients, and not to those with mild symptoms.

“This can be useful to severe and critical cases only, those in need of oxygen or are using ventilators,” said Vergeire, adding dexamethasone can only be used by healthcare professionals and not a do-it-yourself drug.

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