Is hydroxychloroquine a proved treatment of COVID-19?

While WHO is following ongoing clinical trials being conducted in response to COVID-19, including studies looking at chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, it states that at this time there are insufficient data to assess the efficacy of either medicine in treating patients with COVID-19 or in preventing them from contracting the virus.

The biggest and best-designed trial of the drug conducted by University of Oxford shows: hydroxychloroquine does not work against COVID-19 and should not be given to any more hospital patients around the world. 

For this University of Oxford trial, a total of 1,542 patients had been randomised to receive hydroxychloroquine, while 3,132 patients were randomised to receive only normal care. Over 28 days, 25.7% of patients on hydroxychloroquine died, compared with 23.5% of the others. The difference is not statistically significant – it could have arisen by chance.

Hydroxychloroquine has not yet been approved by the FDA for this use. Do not use these medications to treat COVID-19 unless your doctor recommends that you do so.