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The Food and Drug Administration announced Monday (June 15) that it is revoking emergency use authorization for both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine—two antimalarial drugs that were initially indicated as a treatment for COVID-19—amid a number of studies that have since shown potentially deadly side effects.
In a statement by Denise Hinton, the FDA’s chief scientist, she notes that the drugs’ unproven benefits are not offset by their “known and potential risks.”
Both medications saw a rush in demand beginning in late March after President Donald Trump touted their use. But one month later, the FDA released a safety warning detailing heart risks linked to the drugs. A series of subsequent studies cast doubt on the medications’ ability to either dampen symptoms or speed recovery, suggesting instead that they may actively cause harm. (Some of the most damning evidence against hydroxychloroquine was discredited upon high-profile retractions of the ...
