Myth: Hydroxychloroquine can prevent Covid-19
This is not true. The myth has spread partly because of high profile individuals saying that they take the medicine to protect them from coronavirus infection. Hydroxychloroquine is a medicine used to prevent malaria and also used to treat some types of arthritis and immune system conditions such as lupus. But it has not been shown to treat or protect against Covid-19. In fact, a new study of more than 90,000 patients across all 6 continents showed that hydroxychloroquine does not work against the new coronavirus and can cause serious side effects including heart problems. It’s important to take the right medicine for the right condition. In the case of Covid-19, there is still no drug that is approved to treat or prevent the condition. That means it’s really important to protect yourself from infection by staying at least 6 feet (or 2 metres) away from people, wearing a face mask and not touching your face.