AMMAN - The Kingdom has a secure supply of medicine and foodstuffs to cover the Kingdom’s needs for months to come, according to the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA).
“We have a local medicine industry that covers 53 per cent of our market needs, and there are enough raw materials to keep the industry going as well as a sufficient quantity of imported drugs, enough for the next four months,” JFDA President Hayel Obeidat told The Jordan Times on Monday over the phone.
In regards to foodstuffs, Obeidat said that the Kingdom has at least six months worth of basic commodities available, but he warned against “excessive panic buying”.
Obeidat said that following practices in various countries, including the US and several European countries, showed that in their treatment protocol, they use a medication called Hydroxychloroquine.
“Hydroxychloroquine has been around since the sixties and seventies and is usually used to treat malaria and other illnesses. Local pharmaceuticals also produce it. It is used alongside other medications to treat COVID-19.”
“The medication is not preventive. It should not be administered to those who are not sick, but used for patients with acute coronavirus symptoms,” the JFDA president said.
Therefore, the National Anti-Pandemic Committee, in cooperation with the administration’s drug studies team, decided to allow using Hydroxychloroquine and monitor its impact to ensure it is administered properly with minimal side effects, Obeidat said, noting that there is no need for it at the moment as those infected with COVID-19 in the Kingdom are in good condition.
“There is no ultimate treatment or vaccine, of course, and the administration is following up with all the concerned local and international entities to update the treatment protocol for the safety of patients,” he concluded.
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