Thank you very much for your interest in our study!

COVID-19 disease is caused by a virus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, or SARS-CoV-2 for short. In conjunction with the University of Minnesota in the United States, the University of Manitoba and Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre are conducting a research study to determine if taking a medication called hydroxychloroquine can help in preventing COVID-19 disease.

The concept is called “pre-exposure prophylaxis” — a method where medication is given to prevent an infectious disease before contacting an infected person. This strategy has proven useful for infections like HIV.

Hydroxychloroquine is a drug already approved for the treatment of malaria and has been used for the prevention of malaria for over 50 years. It is also sometimes used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. There is some evidence that hydroxychloroquine may have activity against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but at this time we do not know if it may work as a pre-exposure prophylaxis therapy.

We are seeking research participants who are healthcare workers, at high risk of COVID-19 exposure:

• Persons primarily working in emergency departments (ex. physicians, nurses, ancillary staff, triage personnel)

• Persons primarily working in intensive care units (ex. physicians, nurses, ancillary staff, respiratory therapists)

• Persons performing aerosol generating procedures (ex. anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists)

• Persons working in a long-term care facility with a previous or current outbreak of COVID-19

• First responders (ex. EMTs, paramedics)

Click here for more information on hydroxychloroquine:

https://health-products.canada.ca/dpd-bdpp/info.do?lang=en&code=70886