Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) in the News: COVID-19

Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) is being touted as a possible treatment for the coronavirus (COVID-19). This is leading to shortages of the common lupus medication.

Here's what news outlets are reporting about the drug:

Wednesday, April 8 2020

Business Insider, "Why experts are skeptical of studies that seemed to show promising results from using a decades-old malaria drug to treat the coronavirus"

"The underlying data provides a much more complicated picture. Some clinical trials for the pills seem to show amazing results in COVID-19 virus patients. But experts warn these studies are limited by being low quality, often enrolling tiny groups of patients or lacking a control group to compare the results against."

Tuesday, April 7 2020

CNBC, "Patients with autoimmune diseases are running out of hydroxychloroquine""But now supplies are running low across the country for patients like Gleason who rely on the drug. As President Trump has repeatedly and aggressively touted the drug as a potential cure for the novel coronavirus, hydroxychloroquine has been flying off the shelves at pharmacies. Earlier in the month, autoimmune patients could find it at a pharmacy in the area, even if it meant calling up a handful. But as of this week, several doctors told CNBC there are widespread shortages across many states, and it’s gotten challenging to find it anywhere." 

FOX News, "Possible coronavirus treatment leaves lupus patients with new challenges: 'There are backorders'"

"The drug recently made headlines when it was touted as a possible treatment for COVID-19. Meanwhile, doctors in some states are reportedly hoarding the medication for themselves and their family members." Additionally, pharmacies are back-ordering and leaving many lupus patients without access to the drug. New York Post, "Federal agencies buy massive supply of hydroxychloroquine""Two federal agencies have placed orders for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine — using taxpayer money — even as debate rages over its effectiveness in fighting the coronavirus.""Veterans Affairs purchased $168,000 in hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets from the Colorado-based generic drug distributor Golden State Medical Supply, and an additional $40,000 from the pharmaceutical company McKesson. The Bureau of Prisons bought $60,000 in hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets from the company Premium Rx National on March 31 — and did not mention the deadly virus in its order, but the purchase comes as federal correctional facilities saw a surge in COVID-19 cases." The Guardian, "Controversial drug hydroxychloroquine to be given to coronavirus patients in Australia"

"A controversial anti-malaria drug will be given to Australian Covid-19 patients in hospitals outside of clinical trials, the federal government confirmed, after the therapeutic goods registration requirements for two drugs were waived to allow them to be imported to and stockpiled in Australia."

Monday, April 6 2020

The New York Times, "Trump’s Aggressive Advocacy of Malaria Drug for Treating Coronavirus Divides Medical Community"

"While Dr. Anthony Fauci has urged caution in using hydroxychloroquine, some doctors are prescribing it to patients who have the virus despite the fact it has never been tested for it." NewsWeek, "Hydroxychloroquine Questions Intensify As Journal Says Its Drug Study 'Did Not Meet Expected Standards'""The criticism will almost certainly heighten tensions in the White House. Trump's repeated touting of hydroxychloroquine has put him at odds with Fauci and other experts, who emphasize the importance of conducting randomized controlled trials of the drug—the gold standard in scientific research—before recommending its use for COVID-19."

 Yahoo Finance, "Hydroxychloroquine 'not likely to be a silver bullet' for coronavirus, former White House medical official says""There is some anecdotal evidence of the drug being helpful for COVID-19 treatment. A Democratic representative in Michigan credited President Trump after taking hydroxychloroquine as she recovered from COVID-19, and some doctors in major U.S. health care systems are now routinely administering the drug as part of COVID-19 treatment without knowing if it will work.""Anecdotally, it may have had limited effect in patients with milder disease,” Dr. Daniel McQuillen, an infectious disease specialist at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Massachusetts, told Reuters. However, the drug “has had no effect in limiting or slowing progression of our patients that have been at or near ICU level when they arrived."  

Saturday, April 4 2020

Belleville News, "Drug touted as coronavirus ‘cure’ is causing shortages for lupus and arthritis patients""As word spread that Plaquenil was being investigated for use as a remedy to pandemic that has killed more than 50,000 people worldwide as of Thursday, those like Ruvalcaba who use it for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis have seen shortages of the drug on pharmacy shelves. The drug and its relative, chloroquine, also have been used to treat malaria patients for decades." New York Post, "Long Island doctor tries new twist on hydroxychloroquine for elderly COVID-19 patients""Dr. Mohammud Alam, an infectious disease specialist affiliated with Plainview Hospital, said 81 percent of infected covid patients he treated at three Long Island nursing homes recovered from the contagion.""Alam replaced azithromycin with another decades-old antibiotic that doesn’t pose any known risks to the heart. 'Doxycycline is an anti-inflammatory with properties similar to azithromycin but without the safety concerns and without cardiac toxicity,' he said."[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Looking to learn more about Plaquenil as a lupus treatment? Check out our article here.