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EU, Toxicology Bodies Issue Warnings on Chloroquine, Hydroxychloroquine, Trump-Backed COVID-19 Drugs

BEWARE

New warnings about efficacy and poison-control worries come a day after the FDA approved the use of the drugs the president continues to tout without evidence.

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via REUTERS

The European Union is warning that there’s no evidence yet to show that the anti-malaria drug hyped by President Trump is effective in treating the novel coronavirus. “The efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of COVID-19 patients has to date not been proved,” a European Commission spokesperson said Tuesday. The comments came as the EU’s European Medicines Agency noted that chloroquine, along with a handful of other drugs, are undergoing clinical trials to study their use against the coronavirus but emphasized in a statement that as yet “no medicine has yet demonstrated efficacy in treating COVID-19.” 

Separately, the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology, the American College of Medical Toxicology, and the American Association of Poison Control Centers released a joint statement warning that the drugs should only be taken under strict supervision of a doctor for valid, FDA-approved uses since both chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine “can result in severe toxicity, including death, when taken in excess or as a result of interactions with other drugs.”

Read it at Reuters

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