In Arizona, a man has died, and his wife is in critical condition, after the couple took chloroquine to try to prevent a coronavirus infection. The anti-malarial drug has been touted as a possible treatment for the coronavirus by President Trump, but it has not been approved by the FDA or the WHO. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists added hydroxychloroquine, a derivative of chloroquine, to a list of drug shortages last week, following Trump’s statements. The WHO’s director general urged people not to use untested drugs to treat COVID-19.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “There is currently no treatment that has been proven to be effective against COVID-19. It’s great to see the level of energy now being directed to research and development against COVID-19. Small, observational and nonrandomized studies will not give us the answers we need. Using untested medicines without the right evidence could raise false hope and even do more harm than good.”