ICMR okays HCQ for healthcare, frontline workers; Lancet says drug could lead to cardiac arrest in Covid-19 patients

The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has found that taking hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) reduces the chances of getting infected with Covid-19. This comes just when recent research reports have suggested limited or no benefits of HCQ, but increased cardiac risks in Covid-19 patients.

India's premier health research body has revised its guidelines to expand the usage of this anti-malarial drug as a preventive treatment against the novel coronavirus. The ICMR revised its recommendations to use HCQ for Covid-19 after ethical questions were raised about the therapy.

The guidelines have been revised after March 23, when the ICMR recommended use of HCQ as prophylaxis on healthcare workers treating Covid-19 patients as front liners who would be getting affected by the virus.