Solidarity trial

The Solidarity trial for treatments is a multinational Phase III-IV clinical trial organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners to compare four untested treatments for hospitalized people with severe COVID-19 illness.[1][2] The trial was announced 18 March 2020,[1] and as of 6 August 2021, 12,000 patients in 30 countries had been recruited to participate in the trial.[3]

In May, the WHO announced an international coalition for simultaneously developing several candidate vaccines to prevent COVID-19 disease, calling this effort the Solidarity trial for vaccines.[4]

The treatments being investigated are remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir combined, lopinavir/ritonavir combined with interferon-beta, and hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine. Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine investigation was discontinued in June 2020 due to concluding that it provided no benefit.[citation needed]

  1. ^ a b "UN health chief announces global 'solidarity trial' to jumpstart search for COVID-19 treatment". United Nations, World Health Organization. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  2. ^ Kupferschmidt, Kai; Cohen, Jon (22 March 2020). "WHO launches global megatrial of the four most promising coronavirus treatments". Science. AAAS. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  3. ^ "'Solidarity' clinical trial for COVID-19 treatment". www.who.int. World Health Organization. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Update on WHO Solidarity Trial – Accelerating a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine". World Health Organization. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2020. It is vital that we evaluate as many vaccines as possible as we cannot predict how many will turn out to be viable. To increase the chances of success (given the high level of attrition during vaccine development), we must test all candidate vaccines until they fail. WHO is working to ensure that all of them have the chance of being tested at the initial stage of development. The results for the efficacy of each vaccine are expected within three to six months and this evidence, combined with data on safety, will inform decisions about whether it can be used on a wider scale