Repurposing quinine for severe COVID-19 – A preliminary study
Bisi Bright, William Remak, Stephanie A Kolakowsky-Hayner, Wael Ali, Niyi Fajimi, Toyin Adesope, Suzanne Tairu, Patrick Sobande, Seun Falayi, Ewaoche S Itodo
LiveWell Initiative LWI, a self funded nonprofit social enterprise (www.livewellng.org) has, for 5
years, supervised MPH and DrPH Practicums for the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health,
Harvard University, Boston USA. It also supervises PhD thesis at University of Helsinki, Finland. The
organization has repurposed quinine for use in moderate to severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
by compiling three sets of STUDY PROTOCOLS in response to the COVID-19 RESPONSE with a
goal to arriving at a practical and affordable solution to the pandemic. The protocols underwent debates
and hypothesis testing among physicians, researchers, pharmacists and virologists. The protocols, still
undergoing random Physician–Patient Trials at the discretion of prescribing clinicians and clinical
researchers, are as recommended in a compilation of recent findings by LiveWell Initiative LWI on
COVID-19. It is a study protocol designed to ‘evolve’ as a solution to COVID-19 response.
The protocols strongly suggest the use of quinine for COVID-19 treatment in moderate to advanced
disease, recommending intravenous infusion of quinine for critical care in COVID-19. The sample
size in a preliminary study, though small, points at quinine for severe COVID-19. Further studies
are recommended but the result of this preliminary study is significant. The preliminary results were
positive, and were posted online even as the concurrent study continues.
The 4-aminoquinolines have the same characteristic effects on the coronavirus, and quinine is the
potential COVID-19 eradication tool.
In conclusion, quinine is impactful with positive outcomes for severe or advanced COVID-19 especially
after the cytokine storm, with 5-7 days total recovery after the onset of the cytokine storm. Due to
small preliminary sample size with 100% positive outcome, a full study should be commissioned to
establish and quantify the impact of quinine on thousands in a population. This will help to prevent
further morbidity in COVID-19 and the cytokine storm will be greatly overcome.
