The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified as the etiological agent for pneumonia of unknown cause, which broke out in 2019 in Wuhan city, China. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was considered as a pandemic by World Health Organization (WHO) and had caused significant panic globally. Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has been advised for prophylaxis against COVID-19 for the prevention of transmission by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) based on in vitro studies conducted by National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. This article reviews the revised ICMR guidelines on the use of HCQ as prophylaxis against SARS-CoV-2, the proposed mechanism of HCQ prophylaxis, and its efficacy in COVID-19.
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