200K Doses Of Malaria Drug Donated To GA Hospitals: Coronavirus
GEORGIA — A donation of 200,000 doses of a drug often used to treat malaria, which some claim may help treat new coronavirus patients, is coming to Georgia, Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) said Tuesday.
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the largest U.S.-based generics manufacturers, has donated 200,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate to Georgia’s Department of Public Health for potential use in treating hospitalized coronavirus patients.
However, the drug, which can have serious side effects, has not been approved for treating COVID-19, and the president's own health experts say more studies are needed to know if it's safe and effective to use. Some studies have shown hydroxychloroquine may help prevent the coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help clear the virus sooner, and doctors already can prescribe it under a method known as off-label prescribing.
Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is currently used to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other autoimmune diseases. It has recently been suggested as a possible treatment for COVID—19 and the federal government has requested its immediate availability.
Georgia is one of the first states to have received a donation of hydroxychloroquine sulfate from Amneal Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The company is also donating and providing products directly to hospitals across the nation.
“On behalf of the people of Georgia, I want to thank Amneal Pharmaceuticals for this incredible donation,” Collins said. “This medication could be pivotal in Georgia’s fight against COVID-19 and could potentially save thousands of lives across our state. Acts of generosity like this remind us of the remarkable ways in which our country has rallied together to support one another in the face of this crisis, and I’m humbled to have worked with Amneal and Georgia’s Department of Public Health to help secure this donation on behalf of our state. We will beat this virus, and our nation will emerge stronger than ever before.”
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President Donald Trump said in a news briefing April 4 that the government is stockpiling millions of doses of the drug to make it available to patients. "What do you have to lose?" he said. "Take it. I really think they should take it. But it's their choice, and it's their doctor's choice, or the doctors in the hospital. But hydroxychloroquine — try it, if you'd like." He repeated the claim at a news briefing April 5.
The Food and Drug Administration has allowed the drugs into the national stockpile as an option for doctors to consider for patients who cannot get into one of the studies. But it emphasized that the drugs shouldn't be used without a prescription and the drugs being explored "are not FDA-approved for treatment of COVID-19."
Infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci, of the National Institutes of Health and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said Americans shouldn't consider hydroxychloroquine a "knockout drug" against the coronavirus. He said definitive studies are needed to determine if any intervention, whether with this drug or others, still needs to be done to determine safety and efficacy.
In a joint statement, the American Medical Association, the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists had previously cautioned against "prophylactically prescribing medications currently identified as potential treatments for COVID-19."
See more: Latest Coronavirus Myths: Malaria Drug, Face Masks, Mail Safety
Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday he plans to extend the state public health emergency another month. Under state law, the governor can renew the emergency, which was otherwise set to expire on April 13.
The public health emergency extension comes after Georgia saw its largest single-day increase in deaths due to coronavirus on Tuesday, when numbers released by the Georgia Department of Public Health at noon showed 329 deaths, an increase of 100 from Monday at noon.
As of Wednesday at noon, there have been 9,156 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Georgia, 1,899 hospitalized and 348 deaths. This is an increase of 19 new deaths, 125 new hospitalizations and 338 new cases since Tuesday at noon.
This article originally appeared on the Cumming Patch
