FDA Authorizes Widespread Use of Unproven Drugs to Treat the COVID-19

The alarming proliferation of the COVID-19 on a day-to-day basis in the United States is becoming more prominent, affecting hundreds of thousands of Americans. In fact, the case growth of the COVID-19 has accelerated to more than 735,000 cases with a total of 35,000 deaths as of March 30. White House economists, in addition, recently published a study that warned the general public that the United States could potentially experience a half million deaths which would devastate the economy. However, not all is lost.

The Food and Drug Administration, responsible for protecting the public health, recently gave approval to a Trump administration plan that highlights the potential distribution of millions of doses of antimalarial drugs to hospitals across the country. Although the medication has not been officially proven to be effective, the administration believes it is worth the risk as well as a chance to slow the progression of the disease in ill coronavirus patients.

The FDA’s chef scientist, Denise Hinton, wrote in the letter granting emergency approval that it “is responsible to believe that chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate may be effective in treating COVID-19”. His letter, on the contrary, did not cite specific studies or evidence that convinced the FDA to support this decision.

In fact, there have only been a few studies that showed the possible benefits of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. In these studies, it was found that the drugs relieved the acute respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 and killed the virus in infected patients.

A study conducted in France, for instance, tracked the outcomes in 20 patients who were given hydroxychloroquine, or a combination of hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin. The study later revealed that 7 of the 14 patients receiving hydroxychloroquine alone got better. The remaining six patients who received the combination therapy drugs showed improvement as well.

Despite the drug’s proven effectiveness, many health experts warned that the drug’s well-known side effects could potentially have a significant, negative impact. Health experts claim that “patients with existing heart problems or taking certain drugs, such as antidepressants that affect heart rhythm, are at risk of a fatal episode”. Experts recommend hospitals to enforce screenings before prescribing the drugs in order to prevent drug-related deaths.

For more information on the drugs, the FDA posted on its website informational facts sheets for providers which outlined both the side effects and dangers to patients who have the following: heart diseases, low potassium, and other factors. No worries though! The FDA is making sure that hospitals and doctors prescribing the drugs report to the agency the negative side effects experienced by patients.

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