Clinical trial on hydroxychloroquine
Dr. Lauren MacKenzie is an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Manitoba and the Canadian principal investigator for a clinical trial looking into the anti-malaria drug known as hydroxychloroquine.
She was interviewed by CTV, CBC, and other media regarding her study, noting that researchers don’t know if it works or if it doesn’t work, and that’s they are trying to answer with the trial.
MacKenzie wants to see if hydroxychloroquine is effective in preventing front-line COVID-19 healthcare workers from getting infected. She says the study needs 3,500 participants to take either hydroxychloroquine or a placebo for 12 weeks. A similar study in the USA has enrolled 1,500 people, but in Manitoba, only about a handful of people have signed up. She wonders if the political attention hydroxychloroquine gets is affecting interest.
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.