600 PH Covid-19 patients enrolled in WHO Solidarity Trial — DoST

A total of 600 coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients in the country are registered in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Solidarity Trial for drugs, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) said.

In a video aired over DoSTv’s Facebook page, Science and Technology Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña said that the patients came from 22 active sites across the Philippines.

Dela Peña said that two drugs are being eyed as possible treatment for Covid-19 under WHO’s Solidarity Trial: Remdesivir, and Ritonavir-lopinavir with interferon beta.

The trials used to include in its tests the anti-malaria drug Hydroxychloroquine and Ritonavir-lopinavir but it was recently removed from the roster due to safety issues and effectivity.

Dela Peña also disclosed that the Philippines ranked fifth worldwide in terms of number of Covid-19 patients enrolled in WHO Solidarity Trial.

He added that Canada and India expressed interest to collaborate with the Philippines for Covid-19 vaccine development.

As of posting, there are 52,914 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the country, of which, 13,230 have recovered and 1,360 have died.