“”On Monday evening, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo released an executive order that effectively ended pharmacists’ ability to prescribe hydroxychloroquine for use in treating Covid-19, and prohibited any experimental use of the drug outside of state-approved clinical trials.””
Ok, I am confused here. Has Cuomo told pharmacists they CANNOT dispense this drug to any patient despite a prescription or is he telling pharmacists that they cannot dispense it absent a physicians order?
Anyone?
This seems to be a risky strategy by the governor as I have yet to find one article from outside the US that questions the overall efficacy of this drug in combating the virus. In fact, if the drug is as effective as some are saying, it will look really bad so I am scratching my head at why he would do this......
I am not saying the scientist are wrong because there is clearly not a conclusive study that demonstrates its effectiveness, but this is a drug that has been around for many decades and has been prescribed tens of millions of times to include to our own military prior to deployment into malarial hot zones. It’s not a “new drug” and the side effects are well-known, studied, and published.
Here is separate news (just a few minutes ago):
https://www.foxnews.com/media/pence-fda-hydroxychloroquine-off-label-coronavirus
(EXCERPT)
“During a news conference on Sunday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that the state has acquired 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of the antibiotic zithromax and 750,000 doses of chloroquine, with trials set to start Tuesday.”
Tuesday? That’s today folks.
Those are good questions. I’m hoping it sounds worse than it is and there’s a sensible explanation.
I do notice the order specifically ends “pharmacists’” ability to prescribe hydroxychloroquine. It doesn’t say “doctors’”. Maybe they’re trying to prevent a run on the drug due to people getting scrips directly from pharmacists with no doctor in the loop. Some states allow pharmacists to prescribe certain drugs. Not sure what the law is in NY.
As for prohibiting experimental use, I wonder if that would include the currently allowed off-label use. If so that’s a problem. If not, which I hope is the case, then I’d guess their intent is to prevent a potentially confusing flood of experimental results from various testing outfits.