The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has warned the public against using drugs or vaccines with unproven claims that they could cure COVID-19.
Cabinet Secretary and IATF spokesman Karlo Nograles made the statement following reports that there was a clamor for the use of the Fabunan antiviral injections to cure the disease.
Nograles asked the public to not experiment with any drug not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Health, or the World Health Organization for their own safety.
“Kung hindi po siya approved ng FDA at ng Department of Health, ‘wag po tayo mag-eksperimento ng mga gamot na hindi naman po natin alam at wala naman po tayong kasiguraduhan sa kanyang bisa,” he said.
“Kung ito ba ay talagang nakakagamot o nakakasama pa sa katawan, hindi po natin alam,” he added.
The FDA had said there were no registered drugs or vaccines licensed specifically for COVID-19 treatment or prevention.
The agency, however, said there were “ongoing clinical trials” to test the effectiveness and safety of existing drugs against COVID-19.
“The World Health Organization recently launched the Solidarity Trial, a large-scale clinical trial participated in by many countries, including the Philippines, which aims to identify evidence-based treatment regimen for COVID-19,” the FDA said.
Firms and retailers of unlicensed treatment regimens like the Fabunan antiviral injections have been informed that they needed to register their products with the FDA Center for Drug Regulation and Research.
“No applications for product registration have been filed to date. Until such products are proven safe and effective for use in the treatment of COVID-19, they cannot be dispensed to the public nor can therapeutic claims be made,” the FDA said. (Argyll Geducos)
