[MAJOR UPDATE] – Ohio BANS hydroxychloroquine from being prescribed to COVID patients

by The Right Scoop

[MAJOR UPDATE: The ban has been rescinded]

The state of Ohio has officially banned hydroxychloroquine for both prophylactic use and treatment of COVID-19:

Here’s more from The Hill:

The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy is barring pharmacists, licensed distributors of drugs and medical institutions from prescribing the controversial anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat or prevent the novel coronavirus.

The state pharmacy board said in a memo that the rule would go into effect on Thursday and, in general, prohibit the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. No prescription can be dispensed by a pharmacist and a licensed distributor of dangerous dangerous drugs will not be permitted to sell it, according to the rule, which also applies to hospitals and nursing homes.

“Prescriptions issued for chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for prophylactic use related to COVID-19 or for the treatment of COVID-19 are strictly prohibited unless otherwise approved by the board’s executive director in consultation with the board president,” the memo states.

The use of the anti-malaria drugs as part of an approved clinical trial will be exempt from the restrictions.

“Basically, it’s a patient safety issue,” Cameron McNamee, director of policy and communications for the state board, told The Columbus Dispatch. “We’re looking at the best science to determine what’s best for the patients of Ohio.”

The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy is responsible for administering and enforcing laws regarding pharmacy and the distribution of drugs. The agency did not immediately return a request for further comment from The Hill.

Dr. Todaro is exactly right. The state of Ohio obviously has zero trust in their doctors to properly prescribe HCQ for patients. What’s worse is that we know HCQ is effective in some patients in the early stages of COVID-19 before it’s had a chance to ravage the body.

John Hayward suggested on Twitter that this is also another example of death panels, saying “No, there’s no such thing as “death panels,” that’s a silly idea. Oh, by the way, you can’t prescribe this effective medicine to patients in mortal danger because it has been deemed politically incorrect.”

Right. Trump loves the drug so it can no longer be prescribed! Forget science!

 
UPDATE: The Ohio Governor says disagrees and calls on the board to reverse their decision:


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