Trump-Touted Drug Lives On as Covid Therapy Despite Trial Flops
- Doctors flirt with malpractice by using it, scientist says
- Hydroxychloroquine prescriptions defy convention, but not law
Hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug that former President Donald Trump touted as a “game changer” in the fight against Covid-19, is still being prescribed by physicians in the U.S. though it has proven to be ineffective against the virus in clinical trials.
Concern is growing that patients are at risk of harm because physicians continue to prescribe hydroxychloroquine over other potentially life-saving Covid treatments. In June, the Food and Drug Administration revoked the emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine “in light of ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other serious side effects.” The potential benefits of the drug no longer outweigh the known and potential risks for the authorized use, the agency said in a statement.