(CNN) – As people began to stockpile drugs that would possibly treat the coronavirus, several states were quick to set strict prescription limits in order to avoid a shortage of drugs for those who really need them.
Idaho, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma, and West Virginia have taken steps to make sure doctors don’t unnecessarily prescribe chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, just as it happened when the antibiotic Cipro was prescribed and accumulated unnecessarily after the 2001 anthrax attacks.
“Currently, both nationally and in West Virginia, some have begun prescribing these medications for family, friends, and coworkers in anticipation of covid-19-related illness,” states the West Virginia regulation, using the term Medical for coronavirus disease. “This is leading to a shortage of the drug both for patients who have been prescribed the drug for problems unrelated to covid-19 and for those suffering from the effects of covid-19,” the regulation added.
A pharmacist tweeted that it is concerned about the shortage that patients who do legitimately use the medicines may suffer.
Oregon pharmacist Katherine Rowland wrote Sunday that a dentist tried to order prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine “for him, his wife, and another couple (friends). DO NOT. I have lupus patients who have been on hydroxychloroquine for YEARS and now I can’t get it because it’s exhausted. ”
