Watch | COVID-19 Updates: Will Expand HCQ Protocol, Use it For Therapy: Niti Aayog's V.K. Paul

A day after the World Health Organisation suspended the trials of HCQ, Niti Aayog's V.K. Paul who is also a member of the empowered group on handling the COVID-19 pandemic told The Indian Express that India has put its faith in the drug.

"We will modify and expand the protocol as we go along, use it both for therapy and prophylaxis. There are minimal and tolerable side effects of HCQ including abnormal ECG and arrhythmia. However for the purposes for which we are recommending it, the benefits far outweigh the risks,” VK Paul said.

He added that HCQ is known to work in other coronaviruses and they have taken a call based on biological plausibility and availability of the drug. "The evidence had been examined very thoroughly, including before making the expanded recommendation last week for all frontline workers," he said.

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