Do not prescribe hydroxychloroquine for COVID: France

THE French government said on Wednesday that doctors should no longer prescribe hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients, an unproven and potentially harmful treatment for the disease nonetheless promoted by US President Donald Trump.

The move came after two French advisory bodies and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this week that the drug, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, had been shown to be dangerous in several studies.

Europe’s Discovery programme of hydroxychloroquine trials in several countries to gauge its effectiveness in the coronavirus fight have also been suspended since Sunday, France’s Inserm research institute said. The urgency of the coronavirus outbreak prompted some doctors to prescribe the drug despite a lack of research to demonstrate its effectiveness against the new coronavirus.

Under the new French rules, the drug should be used only in clinical trials.

Hydroxychloroquine, also used to treat malaria, is sold under the brand name Plaquenil by French pharma giant Sanofi, which promised to offer governments millions of doses if studies proved it could be safely used in the coronavirus fight.

It has long been known to produce serious side effects, including heart arrhythmia, in some people. The French government changed the rules in March to let doctors prescribe it for coronavirus infection, hoping to find a treatment quickly since a vaccine is not expected until next year at the earliest.