SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Mirian Fuentes, a medical assistant, and nurse Laurie Kuypers check paperwork during a COVID-19 screening at an appointment-only drive-up clinic set up by the University of Washington Medical Center Northwest Outpatient Medical Center on March 17, 2020 in Seattle. (Photo: Karen Ducey/Getty Images)
Citing 'Known and Potential Risks,' FDA Yanks Emergency Approval of Hydroxychloroquine Touted by Trump for Covid-19
"America: Do not listen to President Trump on any medical advice."
Jun 15, 2020
The FDA on Monday rescinded its emergency authorization of the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, a decision critics saw as a rebuke to President Donald Trump, whose repeated and ill-informed promotion of the drug has flown in the face of safety recommendations, sound science, and public health.
"Do not listen to President Trump on any medical advice," tweeted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in response to the ruling.
The agency said in a letter (pdf) on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine phosphate after finding it was not "reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risks."
Trump's repeated touting of the drug--and then his claim that he was using it himself as a preventative treatment--has drawn criticism from public health experts, especially as studies have shown the drug's potential harm to Covid-19 patients.
As Politico reported, Trump's advocacy for the drug presented problems:
The administration's focus on the malaria medicines in the early months of the pandemic deepened a divide between the White House and its health agencies. Several administration officials told POLITICO they felt the drugs got outsized attention while FDA scrambled for solutions in March. Other current and former Health and Human Services officials later said that the emergency authorities and White House demands cast a shadow on FDA as it struggled to remain independent.
HuffPost reporter Melissa Jeltsen noted the disconnect between the agency's promotion of the drug before Mondays reversal and how it treats reproductive medications.
"Pretty insane that the FDA gave emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine, but declined to change the dispensing rules on abortion medication," tweeted Jeltsen, "which meant women all over the U.S. had to travel 100s of miles to pick up drugs taken at home."
News of the FDA announcement came hours after Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News that attendees of the president's first rally in months scheduled for Tulsa on Saturday would not be required to wear masks despite the close quarters the 19,000 expected attendees will face at the Bank of Oklahoma Center.
"The American people can make decisions for themselves," said McDaniel, "we're all pretty informed about Covid at this point."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The FDA on Monday rescinded its emergency authorization of the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, a decision critics saw as a rebuke to President Donald Trump, whose repeated and ill-informed promotion of the drug has flown in the face of safety recommendations, sound science, and public health.
"Do not listen to President Trump on any medical advice," tweeted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in response to the ruling.
The agency said in a letter (pdf) on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine phosphate after finding it was not "reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risks."
Trump's repeated touting of the drug--and then his claim that he was using it himself as a preventative treatment--has drawn criticism from public health experts, especially as studies have shown the drug's potential harm to Covid-19 patients.
As Politico reported, Trump's advocacy for the drug presented problems:
The administration's focus on the malaria medicines in the early months of the pandemic deepened a divide between the White House and its health agencies. Several administration officials told POLITICO they felt the drugs got outsized attention while FDA scrambled for solutions in March. Other current and former Health and Human Services officials later said that the emergency authorities and White House demands cast a shadow on FDA as it struggled to remain independent.
HuffPost reporter Melissa Jeltsen noted the disconnect between the agency's promotion of the drug before Mondays reversal and how it treats reproductive medications.
"Pretty insane that the FDA gave emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine, but declined to change the dispensing rules on abortion medication," tweeted Jeltsen, "which meant women all over the U.S. had to travel 100s of miles to pick up drugs taken at home."
News of the FDA announcement came hours after Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News that attendees of the president's first rally in months scheduled for Tulsa on Saturday would not be required to wear masks despite the close quarters the 19,000 expected attendees will face at the Bank of Oklahoma Center.
"The American people can make decisions for themselves," said McDaniel, "we're all pretty informed about Covid at this point."
The FDA on Monday rescinded its emergency authorization of the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19, a decision critics saw as a rebuke to President Donald Trump, whose repeated and ill-informed promotion of the drug has flown in the face of safety recommendations, sound science, and public health.
"Do not listen to President Trump on any medical advice," tweeted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) in response to the ruling.
The agency said in a letter (pdf) on hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine phosphate after finding it was not "reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products outweigh their known and potential risks."
Trump's repeated touting of the drug--and then his claim that he was using it himself as a preventative treatment--has drawn criticism from public health experts, especially as studies have shown the drug's potential harm to Covid-19 patients.
As Politico reported, Trump's advocacy for the drug presented problems:
The administration's focus on the malaria medicines in the early months of the pandemic deepened a divide between the White House and its health agencies. Several administration officials told POLITICO they felt the drugs got outsized attention while FDA scrambled for solutions in March. Other current and former Health and Human Services officials later said that the emergency authorities and White House demands cast a shadow on FDA as it struggled to remain independent.
HuffPost reporter Melissa Jeltsen noted the disconnect between the agency's promotion of the drug before Mondays reversal and how it treats reproductive medications.
"Pretty insane that the FDA gave emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine, but declined to change the dispensing rules on abortion medication," tweeted Jeltsen, "which meant women all over the U.S. had to travel 100s of miles to pick up drugs taken at home."
News of the FDA announcement came hours after Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News that attendees of the president's first rally in months scheduled for Tulsa on Saturday would not be required to wear masks despite the close quarters the 19,000 expected attendees will face at the Bank of Oklahoma Center.
"The American people can make decisions for themselves," said McDaniel, "we're all pretty informed about Covid at this point."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.