Prescriptions for two antimalarial drugs surged by over 46 times in the U.S. on the day President Trump promoted them on TV as a coronavirus treatment, according to a New York Times analysis.

There is no proof they work against Covid-19. https://nyti.ms/3aDOJxu 
Over 31,000 prescriptions for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine came from across the spectrum — rheumatologists, cardiologists, dermatologists, psychiatrists and even podiatrists, the data shows.
https://nyti.ms/3aDOJxu 
Within days, some states issued orders to restrict new prescriptions.

The surge created shortages that put patients who needed the medications to treat other illnesses at risk, the executive director of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy said. https://nyti.ms/3aDOJxu 
The federal agency led by Dr. Anthony Fauci has since issued cautionary advice on the drugs.

On Friday, the FDA warned against using them outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial because they could lead to serious heart rhythm problems in Covid-19 patients.
The extraordinary change in prescribing patterns offers some of the clearest evidence yet of the perils of a president willing to push unproven, potentially dangerous remedies to a public desperate for relief from a pandemic.

Read the full investigation: https://nyti.ms/3aDOJxu 
You can follow @nytimes.
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