Stella Emmanuel

COVID-19 Cure: Public Health Consultant Faults Dr. Immanuel’s Claims

A Public Health Consultant, Dr Adegboyega Oyefabi, has faulted Dr. Stella Immanuel, a Nigerian-trained U.S based doctor’s claims of using Hydroxychloroquine, Zinc and Zithromax, for curing some patients for COVID-19 pandemic.

Hydroxychloroquine is cure for COVID-19, says U.S.-based Nigerian ...

Oyefabi, the Team Lead, Infectious Disease Control Centre in Kaduna State, spoke in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday.

Recall Dr Stella Immanuel had on July 27, addressed the media after America’s Frontline Doctors Summit in Washington, saying that Hydroxychloroquine, Zinc and Zithromax, cure COVID-19.

She had in a viral video attested to treating over 350 patients in her clinic in Houston, Texas, with the combination of Hydrochloroquine (HCQ), Zinc and Zithromax.

Reacting to the claims, Oyefabi who practices at the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna State University said currently, there is no known cure for COVID-19, adding that the most medications being used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients were based on clinical trials.

Her words; “Hydroxychloroquine is not a new discovery. We have been using it with Azithromycin and Zinc in many treatment and isolation centres in Nigeria.

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“We also use antiviral regimen, and just only multivitamin regimen.The use of any of these is based on clinical presentations.

“We have managed and discharged more than a 1,000 patients in our centres in Kaduna, using these various regimen,” 

“That would mean that I can equally make noise in the media and say antiviral regimen that we have used for more than 1,000 patients in our four isolation centres in Kaduna, and all discharged, is cure.

“There is no known cure for now. Some regimens as stated above had helped in recovery,”.

According to him, viral diseases are mostly self-limiting, adding that building one’s immunity with good food, rest, multivitamins and supportive treatment like Hydroxychloroquine, some antiviral agents and antibiotics were beneficial.

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He said medical science was conservative and required a lot of soberness and sensibility in attesting a cure for a disease.

“You need to do your random clinical trials in varied phases, compare your findings, do rigorous peer review, convince fellow medics and submit to medical authority for scrutiny,” he said.

Oyefabi added that for a pandemic like COVID-19, which had been declared a disease of Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), clearance from the World Health Organisation (WHO) expert committee would be required.

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