Sonko Ready to Supply Controversial Hydroxychloroquine Drug for Covid-19

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko signs the Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2020 on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko signs the Supplementary Appropriation Bill 2020 on Wednesday, June 3, 2020.
File

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has stated he is ready to supply a drug that has been touted as the cure for Covid-19 by some doctors, one of them Stella Immanuel, a general practitioner based in the United States. 

In a post on his verified Facebook page on Tuesday, July 28, he stated that one of his cousins who works at the Kenya Ports Authority had been cured of Covid-19 by being put on hydroxychloroquine and zinc

The governor added that he was awaiting approval from the World Health organisation and Ministry of Health in order to make arrangements to supply the drug. 

President Uhuru Kenyatta with Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, Nairobi Metropolitan Service Director General Mohammed Badi at the Arboretum on June 5, 2020
FormerPresident Uhuru Kenyatta with ex-Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, and former Nairobi Metropolitan Service Director General Mohammed Badi at the Arboretum on June 5, 2020
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“My Sonko Rescue Team shall also extend a helping hand to any Kenyan who will be in dire need of the cure,” he stated. 

Sonko shared a video of Doctor Stella who praised the hydroxychloroquine treatment, claiming that she had treated over 350 Covid-19 patients and none had died. 

“I have treated more than 350 Covid-19 patients, some of them who have diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma. My oldest patient was a 92-year-old.

The result has been the same. I put them on hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax (azithromycin) and they are all well,” she stated during the America’s Frontline Doctors press conference on the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington. 

She also claimed that all the doctors she works with had adopted the drug as a prevention measure and none of them had contracted the disease despite limited protective gear. 

The doctor accused pharmaceutical companies of trying to make money as thousands die of the virus.

In April 2020, Head of Infectious Diseases Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital, Loice Ombajo stated that the government would only consider using chloroquine in severe cases of Covid-19.

The Pharmacy And Poisons Board has banned the over-the-counter sale of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine without a valid prescription.

"Studies have shown that when hydroxychloroquine is used in combination with an antibiotic for the treatment of patients who had Covid-19, they noticed that the patients got better a little sooner, did not progress as much as expected but they also did not shed virus as much as expected," she explained in an interview with Citizen TV

Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina seems to have made a U-turn on the country’s herbal cure for Covid-19. 

Over the weekend, he launched new coronavirus treatment centres and urged his fellow country men to show unity and solidarity in conquering the disease. 

Doctor Stella Immanuel speaking during a press conference at the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington on July 27, 2020
Doctor Stella Immanuel speaking during a press conference at the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington on July 27, 2020

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