A number of old drugs approved for other diseases are being “repurposed” and tested for their safety and efficacy in COVID-19, in systematic clinical trials. They have emergency approval for use in COVID-19, but most are not yet proven for this use. Some drugs have received approval without adequate testing. Other drugs are being used without getting approval for use in COVID-19. All these drugs are being prescribed widely by doctors, outside of clinical trials.

In this episode, Sandhya Srinivasan, consulting editor for the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics spoke with Dr SP Kalantri, director professor of medicine at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sewagram, and medical superintendent of the Kasturba Hospital there. One focus of his work has been the epidemiology of chronic diseases at the primary and secondary levels.