By Analou De Vera
The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said it has yet to recommend the use of carrimycin tablets in treating patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Health Assistant Secretary Maria Vergeire (Facebook)
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said there is still no scientific evidence that carrimycin tablets are an effective cure for COVID-19.
"Kagaya ng ibang investigational therapies para sa COVID, hindi po nirerekomenda ng DOH ang mga gamot na ito para sa COVID hangga’t wala pa tayong matibay at malawakang scientific evidence na ito ay ligtas at epektibo," Vergeire said in a press briefing.
(Just like any other COVID investigational therapies, the DOH does not recommend these supposed drugs for COVID-19 while we do not have sufficient and extensive scientific evidence that they are safe and effective.)
Vergeire said the use of carrimycin for COVID-19 is still undergoing clinical trials.
"Meron pong na-register na clinical trial sa website ng U.S. National Library of Medicine para sa carrimycin bilang treatment or gamot laban sa COVID. Scheduled pong magsimula ang pag-aaral nung Pebrero pa. Ngunit sa ngayon, wala pang lumalabas na resulta mula dito," she said.
(There is a clinical trial registered on the U.S. National Library of Medicine's website for carrimycin as a treatment or drug against COVID. The study was scheduled to start last February. But so far, no results have come out yet.)
For the meantime, Vergeire said the public should wait for the results of the clinical trial of the World Health Organization for possible treatments for COVID-19, which the Philippines has joined.
The medicines that are part of the WHO Solidarity Trial are: the investigational antiviral remdesivir, antimalarial drug chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine, antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV lopinavir with ritonavir, and lopinavir with ritonavir plus interferon beta-1a.
It was reported that Armed Forces of the Philippines chief General Felimon Santos used carrimycin tablets when he contracted COVID-19.