What You Should Know about Chloroquine and Hydroxychloroquine
No one should be self-administering these or any other experimental treatments for COVID-19.
Although data from a small trial were encouraging and showed that hydroxychloroquine reduced viral load in patients with COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine and the related chemical chloroquine are not without adverse effects. That small study also did not have any data on patient outcome. Did the treatment reduce the number of deaths or reduce time of hospitalization? It was too soon to tell. Since these findings were made public and mentioned by President Trump, deaths from ingestion of high concentrations of chloroquine have occurred in the US and in Nigeria.
Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are not without serious side effects in some people and can even be lethal. So, even though these are widely approved for treating malaria, as well as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, these drugs need to be taken under the care of a physician.
For the COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, there is a need to carefully weigh potential benefit against potential harm from administering these (and any other) drugs broadly throughout populations either as a prophylactic agent (to prevent symptoms or infection) or as a therapeutic agent (to treat symptoms…
