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What is WHO Covid-19 ‘Solidarity Trial’? How will it be conducted in India
Hospitals from four cities in Gujarat - Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot - will participate in the WHO’s international clinical trial, a senior state health official said.
In a bid to find an effective treatment for Covid-19, the Gujarat government has received permission from the Centre to participate in the World Health Organization’s ‘Solidarity Trial’ for Covid-19.
Hospitals in four cities in Gujarat - Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot - will participate in the WHO’s international clinical trial, a senior state health official said.
The clinical trial
The international clinical trial is launched by the World Health Organization and its partners to help find an effective treatment for Covid-19.
“The Solidarity Trial will compare four treatment options against standard of care, to assess their relative effectiveness against Covid-19,” the WHO states.
The global health body says it aims to rapidly discover whether any of the drugs in the trial slows down disease progression or improves survival. The trial has patients enrolled in multiple countries. “Other drugs can be added based on emerging evidence,” it says.
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Solidarity Trial in India
The trial will be conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) at hospitals in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot.
Under the trial, the effectiveness of four drugs and standard care on coronavirus patients will be compared.
The four-drug regimes that will be tested on Covid-19 patients under the Solidarity Trial in Gujarat are -Remdesivir, Lopinavir, Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine and Interferon.
BJ Medical College and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital in Ahmedabad, New Civil Hospital in Surat, Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Medical College in Rajkot and Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society (GMERS) Medical College in Vadodara are the four medical facilities in Gujarat where the Solidarity Trials will be carried out.
India is among 100 other countries participating in the trial.
