U.S. endorses use of chloroquine as experimental drug against coronavirus

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that the use of malaria drug chloroquine, as an experimental drug against coronavirus, would be in a clinical trial to find out whether or not it works, and if so, what dose would be safe and effective.

This follows U.S President Donald Trump’s claim that chloroquine had been approved for use as a coronavirus treatment, but FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn later indicated it had not.

Speaking at a press conference at the White House on Thursday, Trump and the head of the FDA were seen to have given very conflicting comments about the availability of the drug.

Trump noted that chloroquine had been approved and could be given to patients who have contracted the coronavirus by doctors with a prescription.

“It’s been around for a long time, so we know that if things don’t go as planned it’s not going to kill anybody,” Trump said.

Few minutes later, FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, said: “Again, we want to do that in a setting of a clinical trial,”

Following that, an FDA spokesperson said the drug had not been approved for use in Covid-19 patients.

The FDA has increasingly stepped back from its regulatory role in the middle of the crisis, announcing that it would let its states regulate tests to diagnose the virus in order to speed their rollout.

The FDA also said it is temporarily halting inspections of drug plants in the U.S. and abroad.

The agency’s standard for drugs is to look at the risk posed by side effects compared with how effective treatments are.

But with the growing number of coronavirus cases globally and the lack of any proven therapy or vaccine has appeared to have tilted that balance.