'Covidex not yet approved for treatment of Covid-19'

Senior Presidential Press Secretary, Linda Nabusayi, has said that President Museveni has not assented to the mass production of Covidex, a herbal remedy that many are looking up to in the fight against Covid-19.

Her remarks follow claims that have been making rounds on social media that President Museveni had approved the mass production of Covidex.

"Please disregard claims that President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has okayed mass production of Covidex. The president does support various scientists, including Prof. Ogwang with funding research and innovation including developing a Covid-19 cure. This process is ongoing," she noted in a statement

In any case, Nabusayi said that the National Drug Authority(NDA) is mandated to approve the production of this medicine, not the president.

Recently as a result of a surge in Covid-19 infections, the demand for Covidex rose.

The drug was being sold at several pharmacies in the city at Shs 10,000 for each 20 mls bottle.

Some pharmacists selling the drug claimed that a person needed seven bottles of the drug to be cured from Covid-19. The drug was also being sold as a preventive treatment for the disease.

According to Mbarara University, Covidex is one of several products including a hand sanitiser that have been developed as part of the university’s Pharm-Biotechnology Traditional Medicine Center (PHARMBIOTRAC).

Recently,NDA, warned the general public against the use of herbal products on the market purporting to treat Covid-19 noting that medicines are only permitted to be sold after a successful approval from the authority.

NDA said it was still gathering more information about Covidex before directing on its usage advising all manufacturers or innovators of herbal medicine to always seek guidance from the authority before production and sale of their products.