Hydroxychloroquine ban walked back in Ohio after pushback from governor, others
After pushback, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy has reversed a rule that would prohibit the sale of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment or prevention of coronavirus.
The board, which approved the ban earlier this month, announced the change Thursday afternoon, citing objections from Gov. Mike DeWine and others across the state.
“As a result of the feedback received by the medical and patient community and at the request of Governor DeWine, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy has withdrawn [the] proposed rule,” according to a statement from the board. “Therefore, prohibitions on the prescribing of hydroxychloroquine in Ohio for the treatment of COVID-19 won’t take effect at this time.”
The rule was approved July 20 and set to go into effect Thursday. However, the board said it will use this time to “reexamine the issue” with the help of the state’s medical board and clinical experts, the statement read.
The board’s plan to prohibit prescribers and non-resident pharmacies from selling or dispensing the antimalarial drug as a treatment for the virus drew concern from DeWine, who asked that the decision be halted.
“I agree with the statement from Dr. Steven Hahn, Commissioner of the [Food and Drug Administration,] that the decision about prescribing hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 should be between a doctor and a patient,” the governor said in a statement via Twitter. “The Ohio Board of Pharmacy and @ohiomedboard should revisit the issue, listen to the best medical science, and open the process up for comment and testimony from experts.”
Under the proposed rule, all previous approvals for chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 would be voided, the order states. It also cites the findings of “a large, randomized clinical trial in hospitalized patients that found these medicines showed no benefit for” speeding recovery or preventing death from the virus, local station WRBL reported.
Prescriptions issued as part of clinical trials to test “the safety and efficacy of the the drugs” were exempt from the rule, however.
Interest in the drug as a possible coronavirus treatment piqued when President Donald Trump repeatedly backed the unproven meds, calling them “game changers.” The FDA has since revoked its emergency use authorization (EUA) for hydroxychloroquine after early trials showed the risks of taking the drug — including rapid heartbeat and other “serious cardiac adverse events” — far outweighed the benefits.
“While additional clinical trials continue to evaluate the potential benefit of these drugs in treating or preventing COVID-19, we determined the emergency use authorization was no longer appropriate,” the agency said, citing a “lack of benefit.”
Still the president has touted the drugs as a treatment for the virus, which, as of Thursday, has infected more than 4.4. million people in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University.
“Many doctors think it is extremely successful, the hydroxychloroquine coupled with the zinc and perhaps the azithromycin,” Trump said Tuesday in response to question about a video he shared on social media that claimed the drug was a “cure” for COVID-19.
“I happen to believe in it,” he added, according to CNBC. “I would take it. As you know, I took it for a 14-day period. And as you know, I’m here. I happen to think it works in the early stages.”
The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy hasn’t announced a possible new start state for the hydroxychloroquine ban.