The alert follows the publication of data from the Platform Randomised trial of Interventions against COVID-19 in older people (PRINCIPLE), which found that neither azithromycin nor doxycycline benefitted patients aged over 50 years in the early stages of COVID-19, who were treated at home.
Researchers had investigated azithromycin and doxycycline as separate treatments to see if they could help patients aged over 50 years with early stage COVID-19 to recover more quickly at home, or prevent the need for hospital admission.
