In mid-March, President Donald Trump personally pressed federal health officials to make malaria drugs available to treat the novel coronavirus, ...
FILE PHOTO: Laura Ng, who has lupus and had to recently call at least five pharmacies before she could find a place to fill her hydroxychloroquine prescription, is photographed in Seattle, Washington, U.S. March 31, 2020. REUTERS/Lindsey WassonShare this contentWASHINGTON: In mid-March, President Donald Trump personally pressed federal health officials to make malaria drugs available to treat the novel coronavirus, though they had been untested for COVID-19, two sources told Reuters.
In a statement to Reuters, the White House said the president had not launched a “pressure campaign” but was taking appropriate action.
In seeking a medical breakthrough to the global crisis, Trump had contacted Dr. Stephen Hahn, the FDA administrator, and other top health officials, questioning whether they were moving rapidly enough to make the drugs more widely available, one source said. “He was not happy because of the bureaucracy.”
“It was determined, based on the scientific evidence available, that it is reasonable to believe that the specific drugs may be effective in treating COVID-19, and that, given there are no adequate, approved, or available alternative treatments, the known and potential benefits to treat this serious or life-threatening virus outweigh the known and potential risks,” the FDA statement said.
The document does not name the clinicians, say whether their treatment was successful or explain the paper’s sourcing. Rigano, appearing on Fox News again two days later, said the president “has the authority to authorize the use of hydroxychloroquine against coronavirus immediately.”On Mar 19, Trump vowed to make the drugs more widely available. “It’s shown very encouraging – very, very encouraging early results,” he said at a press conference. “And we’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately. And that’s where the FDA has been so great.
While the FDA approves drugs for the U.S. market and oversees the testing, the CDC is the key agency coordinating the response to infectious diseases and providing information about them. At that point, the CDC had not singled out the drugs.
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