THE Health Ministry will continue using hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, but cautiously and with strict monitoring of its side effects, said Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

“We are still using it, but cautiously.

“If there are side effects we will immediately stop,” he said.

Noor Hisham said the drug, which was used to treat malaria, has the potential to cause QT-Interval, which increases heart rate and causes blurred vision.

He also said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has suspended the use of the drug in its study to assess the literature review of its effects.

The WHO has suspended all clinical trials using hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 due to safety concerns.

“All medicines have side effects, we have to monitor them,” he added.

The off label use of the drug is administered to certain Category 1 and 2 patients, that is those with mild symptoms.

This, he said, helps to prevent the virus from progressing to the fourth and fifth stages, which is severe and could lead to the development of pneumonia. – May 26, 2020.