MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday, May 14, said that 12 hospitals in the Philippines are part of the World Health Organization’s solidarity trial, a trailblazing program which aims to find a cure for COVID-19.

The DOH said that 81 patients of these local hospitals are currently part of the program. (READ: How can the Philippines secure enough drugs or vaccines against coronavirus?)

In an earlier statement on April 22, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said that while there was no ”magic drug” or known cure for COVID-19, there was an urgency to find an effective treatment.

“The drugs included in this trial are largely untested against SARS-COV 2 virus that causes COVID-19, and more robust data is needed,” Vergeire said. 

According to the WHO, the solidarity trial provides “simplified procedures to enable even overloaded hospitals to participate, with no paperwork required.”

The organization also said that as of April 21, over 100 countries are working together to find effective therapeutics as soon as possible, via the trial.

Vaccines for the coronavirus being developed by other countries will take about 6 to 12 months or even 1 and 1/2 years to be ready for commercial use. (READ: Coronavirus drugs: Who’s doing what, and when they might come)

Here is the list of experimental drugs being used for clinical trials in the Philippines and in other countries:

• antiviral Remdesivir
• antimalarial drug Chloroquine or Hydroxychloroquine
• antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV Lopinavir with Ritonavir
• Interferon beta-1a drug used to treat multiple sclerosis

Below is the list of the participating hospitals and the number of patients of each institution.

1. Makati Medical Center: 19 patients
2. Philippine General Hospital: 14 patients
3. Lung Center of the Philippines: 13 patients
4. The Medical City: 10 patients
5. University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Medical Center: 5 patients
6. Manila Medical Center: 5 patients
7. Cardinal Santos Medical Center: 4 patients
8. Asian Hospital and Medical Center: 4 patients
9. San Lazaro Hospital: 3 patients
10. St Luke’s Medical Center-Quezon City: 2 patients
11. St Luke’s Medical Center-Global: 1 patient
12. Manila Doctors Hospital: 1 patient

As of Thursday, the Philippines recorded 11,876 cases of coronavirus infections, with 790 deaths and 2,337 recoveries. – Rappler.com