The FDA on Friday cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment outside of hospitals or clinical trials.
The world needs a coronavirus vaccine ASAP. Despite drugmakers billion-dollar bets, one might not be available for years.
"This is an important and timely statement from the FDA," said Rajesh Gandhi, an infectious diseases physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School. Doctors, including director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci, have cautioned for months that without well-run clinical trials it is impossible to know if either drug is effective – or safe – to treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
"These findings highlight the importance of awaiting the results of ongoing prospective, randomized, controlled studies before widespread adoption of these drugs," the study authors said.found chloroquine to be so dangerous at high doses the trial was shut down after six daysThe study found one-quarter of the patients taking the anti-malaria medication developed potentially deadly changes in the electrical system regulating their heartbeats.
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