Dr. Biswaroop’s appeal to Govt of India
Topic: Stop prescribing Anti H.I.V drug
With reference to Ministry of Health & Family Welfare & Directorate General of Health Services (EMR Division) the guideline on Clinical Management of COVID-19 as is displayed in “MoHFw.gov.in” as on 20th April – 2020, it recommends the following medicine for the treatment of COVID-19
1) Lopinavir/Ritonavir (HIV/ anti Viral Drugs) as given in Page 14 & 15
However on Page 14 itself, the ministry accepts – , “There is no current evidence from RCTs to recommend any specific treatment for suspected or confirmed with COVID-19. No specific anti-virals are recommended for treatment of COVID-19 due to lack of adequate evidence from literature. The use of Lopinavir/Ritonavir in PEP regimens for HIV (4 weeks) is also associated with significant adverse events which many a times leads to discontinuation of the therapy.”
The use of the above drugs Lopinavir/Ritonavir (antiviral) for the treatment of COVID-19 should be withdrawn with immediate effect.