WHO warns: “using untested medicines can create false hope”

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The World Health Organization (WHO) warns against using untested drugs in the fight against the new coronavirus. “It can inspire false hope and do even more harm than good,” said big boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“It can cause a shortage of medicines that are needed to treat other diseases.” According to Ghebreyesus, there is “a desperate need” to find a cure for Covid-19, but he asks to beware anyway.

“Small, observational, and non-randomized studies will not give us the answers we so desperately need.”

There is a need for “irrefutable and high-quality evidence as soon as possible,” it says. According to Ghebreyesus, this is only possible if as many countries as possible join forces in the research.

Asking people to stay at home and other physical distancing measures are an important way of slowing down the spread of the virus and buying time – but they are defensive measures. You can't win a football game only by defending. You have to attack as well.
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 23, 2020