Multiple Facebook posts claim an anti-viral injection that was being developed in the Philippines in April 2020 is a cure for COVID-19.
The post shows a stock photo of a person holding a medical syringe overlaid with text that reads: “FAI / Fabunan AntiViral Injection is the CURE for COVID-19”., Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:, The post’s caption, written in a mix of English and Tagalog, reads: “FABUNAN ANTIVIRAL INJECTION / is the cure for the COVID-19 / thanks and there’s a cure”., The same photo was also shared alongside a similar claim\xa0on Facebook here, here, here and here., The claim is misleading., "The Philippine\xa0FDA, which regulates medical and pharmaceutical standards in the country, warned the public against using the purported injection, saying the injections effectiveness in treating COVID-19\xa0was “unproven”.", “Currently there are no registered drugs or vaccines that are licensed specifically for use in COVID-19 treatment or prevention,” the agency said in this statement on April 8, 2020., , “Manufacturers and vendors of unlicensed products such as PRODEX B and the Fabunan Antiviral Injections have been informed regarding the process and requirements to register their products with the FDA Center for Drug Regulation and Research (CDRR),” it said., “No applications for product registration have been filed to date. Until such products are proven safe and effective for use in the treatment of COVID-19 they cannot be dispensed to the public nor can therapeutic claims be made.”, “Prodex B” is an unregistered anti-COVID-19 drug combination that the FDA had earlier warned against, AFP reported here., As of April 15, 2020, the FDA has not updated its position on the Fabunan Antiviral Injections., The WHO\xa0also maintains\xa0here\xa0there is currently no vaccine or antiviral medicine that has been proven to prevent or treat COVID-19 as of April 2020., The disease, first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019, has killed more than 117,000 people and infected at least 1.8 million globally as of April 14, 2020, WHO figures show., , Copyright © AFP 2017-2020.  All rights reserved.  Users can access and consult this website and use the share features available for personal, private, and non-commercial purposes.  Any other use, in particular any reproduction, communication to the public or distribution of the content of this website, in whole or in part, for any other purpose and/or by any other means, without a specific licence agreement signed with AFP, is strictly prohibited.  The subject matter depicted or included via links within the Fact Checking content is provided to the extent necessary for correct understanding of the verification of the information concerned.  AFP has not obtained any rights from the authors or copyright owners of this third party content and shall incur no liability in this regard.  AFP and its logo are registered trademarks.
Philippine authorities warn anti-viral injection has not yet been approved for treating COVID-19 | AFP Fact Check