Canada is already using chloroquine on coronavirus patients

A COVID-19 treatment has already been rolled out at the Montreal Jewish Hospital, giving hope to many that there might be light at the end of the quarantine.

Chloroquine, a drug first introduced to fight malaria in 1934, has been speculated to both prevent and treat COVID-19. Today during a White House Press Conference, U.S President Donald Trump announced that chloroquine was being fast-tracked by the FDA for the treatment of coronavirus, and would be rolled out “almost immediately.”

In response, pharmaceutical giant Bayer announced it would donate millions of units of chloroquine in the fight against the global pandemic.

Chloroquine as an immediate potential fix against coronavirus is a far cry from the 18 months trial time that many had been citing for Gilead Science’s vaccine, remdesivir.

Recently, it was revealed that South Korea, China, and India—all countries which have significantly controlled or eliminated their COVID-19 cases—have been utilising chloroquine in the fight against the coronavirus.

Earlier in March, the New York Post ran an article about a patient treated with chloroquine. A Chinese-American resident of New Jersey, James Cai,  who was diagnosed with COVID-19, felt he only survived because his family contacted medical teams in Wuhan who advised his American doctor to begin immediate treatment using the drug.

In stark contrast; Italy, a nation which has recently become the coronavirus hotbed of the world, had not approved or been utilizing chloroquine for treatment of its patients, and has been experiencing the highest mortality rate for coronavirus in the world.

Today, likely in light of President Trump’s announcement, Belgium became the latest country to add chloroquine to its list of drugs suggested for treatment in those suspected or diagnosed with COVID-19.