Amazing Azytromycin Prescription, Favipiravir Is Used By Doctors At Wisma Atlet Hospital To Cure COVID-19 Patients, Really?

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The hype about a powerful doctor's prescription for COVID-19 patients who are self-isolating at home is circulating on various social media platforms. The narrative in the message invites all COVID-19 patients not to panic if the symptoms are not severe.

Because, there are prescription drugs that can be found to cure COVID. "If someone is infected with COVID, there is no need to panic and don't have to go to the hospital if it's not so severe that the shortness of breath requires an ICU and a ventilator, because currently all of the COVID-19 special hospitals are full", said the narrative in the message quoted from turnbackhoaks, July 2.

The message uploader then details the number of drugs the patient will need to buy. Among them, for antibiotics, Azithromycin 500 mg once a day is sufficient for 5-10 days. Then antiviral 10 tab, Favipiravir (Avugan-Indofarma) 600 mg, 2 times a day for 5 days.

Then anti-cough and anti-oxidant, 28 tabs, Fluimucil 600 mg, 1-2X, 14 days. Anti-inflammatory, 10 tabs, Dexamethasone 0,5, 3X, After 7-10 days and the fever goes down 10 tabs, Paracetamol 500 mg, 3X, Hanay in fever.

"Don't panic, pray and stay grateful, happy spirit because a happy heart is a medicine. Always believe and believe that you will recover. Still have to drink Vitamin C, Zinc, & Vit D and try to sunbathe in the morning for at least 15 minutes", wrote turnbackhoaks. This recipe is even said to be used at the Wisma Atlet Jakarta COVID-19 Hospital.

Is that right?

The pulmonologist at Wisma Atlet Emergency Hospital, Efri Pulmo, via his Twitter account, @efriadzadr said the prescription given was wrong and did not follow the recommended recommendation. The public needs to be careful when receiving similar information.

This information has indeed been widely circulated on social media. Through Efri's comment column, many also testified that they had received this doctor's prescription information. Not only Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp chain messages are also enlivened with this.

A similar narrative that circulated in 2020 and reappeared at the end of June 2021 was also reviewed in a turnbackhoax article entitled 'Medication Recipes for Covid-19 Patients' which was uploaded last June.

Reporting from Liputan6.com, Dr. Andi Khomeini Takdir Haruni., Sp.PD explained, doctors have their own considerations and will monitor each patient when giving medicine. So patients can not be creative themselves and take drugs carelessly.

The only drug that can be traded freely is paracetamol, the rest must be monitored by a doctor

"Dezamethason, for example, should not be used for healthy people or patients with mild COVID-19 symptoms, if used carelessly it can interfere with our immunity", explained Dr. Andi to Liputan6.com.

Dr. RA Adaninggar, Sp.PD also gave a response regarding the information, he explained that Dexametahson, antivirals, antibiotics are all hard drugs, not all patients can drink there is an assessment of indications and contraindications from the doctor.

"The reason is that if not, there could potentially be a danger of drug side effects, drug interactions, and drug reactions that occur under certain conditions. Thus, the photo of the list of prescription drugs from the Wisma Atlet Hospital is a hoax with misleading content categories", said turnbackhoaks.