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16 Jun: Livemint: Press Trust of India: Doctors can still prescribe HCQ to patients, says US health Secretary
Doctors can still prescribe anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to patients, US Health Secretary Alex Azar said, hours after the FDA withdrew the emergency use authorisation of chloroquine and HCQ in the treatment of COVID 19 patients...

“At this point, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and chloroquine are just like any other approved drug in the United States. They may be used in hospital, they may be used in out-patient, they may be used at home, all subject to a doctor’s prescription,” Azar said.
“In fact, the FDA’s removal of the Emergency Use Authorization takes away what had been a significant misunderstanding by many that had made people think that somehow it could only be used in a hospital setting, and we’ve tried to make that clear throughout,” he said in response to a question.

During a White House media appearance with President Donald Trump, Azar asserted that HCQ was approved in the United States.
“If a doctor wishes to prescribe it, working with a patient, they may prescribe it for any purpose that they wish to do so. And, this (FDA’s decision) actually removes a potential barrier to them,” the health secretary said...

Azar described the media interpretation of FDA’s letter as INACCURATE.
“With the FDA finding that they don’t see enough data to support hospital-based use, for those who are the most extreme cases of patients who have been hospitalised, they took that restriction off. They took the Emergency Use Authorization off,” he said.
Azar asserted that FDA said its data in the hospital setting was not supportive. “We continue to study in out-patient settings, as well as preventative. That data is not yet in,” he added.
https://www.livemint.com/news/world/doctors-can-still-prescribe-hcq-to-patients-says-us-health-secretary-11592273755247.html