FDA Contradicts Trump Over Chloroquine Treatment For Coronavirus

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has contradicted President Donald Trump’s claim that the body had approved chloroquine as treatment for coronavirus.

FDA had told Trump to authorize the expansion of the use of an experimental malaria drug, chloroquine, to treat patients as the coronavirus outbreak intensified.The president had on Thursday said in a press conference at the White House, that chloroquine had been approved by the FDA and could be given to patients on prescription.

The FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, minutes later, contradicted Trump, saying the drug had not been approved for use in Covid-19 patients, but would be used for clinical trial.

According to him, “again, we want to do that in a setting of a clinical trial.”

The FDA had to a large extent stepped back from its regulatory role following the outbreak, as it said it would allow states in the US to regulate tests to diagnose the virus, as it would allow quick response.