President Trump has pressured health officials to issue guidelines for the use of antimalarial drugs as treatments for coronavirus, although they are not tested for COVID-19, two sources said. Reuters.
The president told senior officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) to focus on cloroquine and hydroxychloroquine drugs as potential treatments, according to both sources.
Following pressure from the president, the federal government has issued guidelines saying that doctors have the ability to prescribe these drugs, while quoting anecdotes instead of a peer-reviewed scientific assessment.
The White House told Reuters in a statement that Trump had not done a “pressure campaign” but that he was taking the appropriate action.
“The President’s top priority is the health and safety of the American people, which is why he has brought together the federal government and the private sector, including doctors, scientists and medical researchers, for unprecedented collaboration to accelerate vaccine development, “the statement said. .
The CDC told Reuters it released the guidelines at the request of the coronavirus task force and doctors who “asked the CDC to review the literature, compose and publish the information as soon as possible “
“The agency did it,” said the statement. An NIH spokesperson said the agency “was not the source of the content.”
The FDA said in a statement to Reuters that it acted correctly when it issued an emergency authorization for antimalarial drugs to be prescribed and dispensed.
“It has been determined, on the basis of available scientific evidence, that it is reasonable to believe that specific drugs may be effective in the treatment of COVID-19, and that, since there is no alternative treatment adequate, approved or available, the potential benefits to treat this serious or deadly virus outweigh the known and potential risks, “said the FDA statement.
Trump has expressed support for the drugs, particularly on his Twitter. Supporters say they approve of the use of drugs in a pandemic because there is no proven treatment for COVID-19.
But research has shown that specific people who use the drugs can have an interrupted heart rate or arrhythmia, and the drugs “can pose a particular risk to the seriously ill,” according to Reuters.
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