Valiant Volunteers: 361 Filipinos Join WHO COVID-19 Treatment Trial

The Philippines is taking part in the World Health Organization's (WHO) multi-country Solidarity Trial, which hopes to solve the COVID-19 puzzle.

In his report to Congress earlier this week, President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed 361 patients from 26 different hospitals have enlisted in the clinical trials, which requires informed consent from the initial target of 500 subjects

A budget of P29.99 million has reportedly been allocated for the one-year project implemented by the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health.

More than a hundred countries are lending a hand to the Solidarity Trial, which seeks to test viable therapies (like standard care) to treat the coronavirus, including off-label drugs meant for other illnesses but prove beneficial for COVID-19 patients.

The drug combinations are namely remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir (for HIV), lopinavir and ritonavir plus interferon beta, and hydroxychloroquine (malaria).

According to the Department of Health, the country already has 38,511 total cases, 10, 438 recoveries (205 today), and 1,270 deaths (4 today) as of writing.

This story originally appeared on Reportr.World. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.