The Interview Editors
Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State on Wednesday said he had approved the use of chloroquine as treatment of COVID-19 patients in the state.
This is in spite warnings from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international studies showing that using the drug to treat the viral infection has led to more deaths.
The governor pointed out that he was treated with chloroquine and Zithromax when he contracted the virus a few weeks ago.
Reports on the drug’s effectiveness were initially inconclusive because it was used to treat patients with mild cases and most COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms recover on their own.
The governor suggested that Bauchi had not recorded any serious cases or deaths from the coronavirus pandemic because of the use of chloroquine in the state.
Mohammed, who insisted that he didn’t want anyone to die also said that he was taking responsibility for the consequences of his decision.
He said, “Our medical team is using their own ingenuity to use chloroquine and Zithromax to treat the patients, even though in some places, they said it is against the protocol.
“We are used to taking chloroquine in Nigeria. We are going to use them. We have taken responsibility and I have taken responsibility.
“Zithromax and chloroquine are not harmful to our body, our physiological system has adapted to it. If you are having a fever you take chloroquine.”
Research into the effectiveness of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 have however been cut short around the world because it leads to more deaths according reports in the Associated Press.
It was used to treat veterans in the United States of America. There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.
