U.S. regulators on Monday revoked emergency authorization for malaria drugs promoted by President Donald Trump for treating COVID-19 amid growing evidence they don’t work and could cause serious side effects.
Citing reports of heart complications, the FDA said the drugs’ unproven benefits “do not outweigh the known and potential risks.”
It didn't shorten the time of infection and it didn't reduce the risk of death
“The FDA looked at the data, the information that was available from the various studies that had been done, and concluded two things: one that there was no evidence that the drug actually benefited people.
The actions by FDA and NIH send a clear signal to health professionals against prescribing the drugs for coronavirus.
The FDA granted emergency use of the drugs for coronavirus patients in late March at the same time the U.S. government accepted 30 million doses of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine that had been donated by two foreign drug manufacturers.
