Nevada’s Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak signed an order Tuesday outlawing the use of antimalarial drugs for sufferers of the coronavirus.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports the “governor’s order prohibits the prescribing and dispensing chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for a COVID-19 diagnosis[.]”
“At this point in time, there is no known cure for COVID-19 and we must not withhold these drugs from those who need them,” the governor said in his statement. “The best way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to stay home for Nevada, not to stockpile these drugs.”
Sisolak said he signed the emergency order after receiving a request from the Pharmacy Board, which claims the effectiveness of these drugs to treat the Chinese virus has “not been established,” and that “an emergency exists due to the hoarding and stockpiling” of these antimalaria drugs: chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.
This order makes no sense, especially in a world where another Democrat governor, Andrew Cuomo of New York, has ordered trials of the malaria drug. Saying he agrees with the president, Cuomo announced last week: “We’re also implementing the trial drug:”
We have secured 70,000 hydrocloroquin; 10,000 zithromax from the federal government. I want to thank the FDA for moving very expeditiously to get us this supply.
The President ordered the FDA to move and the FDA moved. We’re going to get the supply and the trial will start this Tuesday. The President is optimistic about these drugs and we are all optimistic that it could work.
I’ve spoken with a number of health officials and there is a good basis to believe that they could work. Some health officials point to Africa, which has a very low infection rate and there’s a theory that because they’re taking these anti-malaria drugs in Africa, it may actually be one of the reasons why the infection rate is low in Africa. We don’t know, but let’s find out and let’s find out quickly. And I agree with the President on that and we’re going to start and we’re going to start Tuesday.
While Sisolak is correct that the FDA has not approved the drug for coronavirus sufferers, the FDA has approved the drug for a number of other ailments, which means it is safe for human consumption — as long you consult with your doctor and follow the prescription orders.
In other words, what you don’t want to do is look for something that might have hydroxychloroquine in it and gobble it down, like some poor fool did this week with his fish tank cleaner.
There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to support giving these drugs a try… This includes studies… Again, we’re a long way from FDA approval through clinical trials, and the Africa correlation Cuomo spoke of might indeed have nothing to do with the malaria drug and have everything to do with Africa’s heat. Scientists believe the Chinese virus doesn’t fare well in warm weather.
Nonetheless, if someone I loved was in throes of the Wuhan virus and I lived in Nevada and was not allowed to try everything reasonable to save this person, I’d be furious. And this malaria drug *is* reasonable. What’s more, how can there be hoarding going on in Nevada when 1) you can only acquire this drug through a prescription, and 2) there are only around 300 coronavirus sufferers throughout the entire state?
As far as I know, the only “hoarding” going on is by those who can write a prescription to themselves, meaning doctors and the like. But the shortage is a worldwide shortage, and for obvious reasons: countries all over the world want the drug to help their own coronavirus sufferers.
It would make perfect sense for Sisolak to outlaw doctors prescribing these drugs as a preemptive prescription, as a “just in case” prescription. But to deny it to those already suffering with the coronavirus is a gross violation of human rights, and an infringement of the relationship between patient and doctor.
This stinks of partisan politics, of an anti-science governor putting the trolling of Trump over the well-being of his own citizens.
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