The Department of Health (DOH) warned the public against the use of anti-inflammatory drug colchicine as treatment for coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that "sufficient evidence" is still needed to prove if colchicine is effective against COVID-19.
The DOH spokesperson said that the public should wait for the agency's guidelines if ever colchicine will be approved as COVID-19 treatment by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"Atin pong pakinggan ang payo ng Department of Health. Antayin niyo pong maglabas kami ng specific na guidelines kung saka-sakaling papayagan nating gamitin ito para sa ating populasyon ," said Vergeire.
"Sa ngayon po, wala pa ho tayong binibigay na advice na gamitin na ito para sa COVID-19 ,” she added.
In a study conducted by the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) in Canada, it found "clinically persuasive results of colchicine’s efficacy to treat COVID-19," saying that the results have "shown that colchicine has reduced by 21 percent the risk of death or hospitalizations in patients with COVID-19."