Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an anti-malarial drug similar to chloroquine, one of the oldest and best-known anti-malarial drugs, but with lesser side-effects. It can be bought over the counter and is fairly inexpensive.
The drug shot to fame as it is shown to have shortened the time to clinical recovery of COVID-19 patients. However, many of these are in small lab-controlled testing and no proper human trials have been conducted to determine its efficacy.
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The Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has cleared HCQ to be used as a prophylaxis, or preventive medication, by doctors, nurses and other health staff. Union Health Ministry, last month, moved it to Schedule H1 , which can be sold on prescription only.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been a proponent of its use , calling it a “gamechanger”. He warned "retaliation" against India , if it didn't revoke the ban on its exports. India eventually allowed export of the drug.
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