Once defended by Donald Trump, these drugs now fall out of favor. US health officials on Monday withdrew authorization to use two treatments against Covid-19, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, on an emergency basis.
"It is no longer reasonable to believe that the oral administration of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine is effective in the treatment of Covid-19," said the scientific officer of the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) in a letter. ) Denise Hinton.
"Nor is it reasonable to believe that the known and potential benefits of these products exceed their known and potential risk," she said, announcing the end of their emergency use.
Authorized for more than two months
The FDA had given the green light on March 30 so that these antimalarial treatments were prescribed, only in the hospital, to patients contaminated by the new coronavirus.
Donald Trump then placed great hopes on hydroxychloroquine, the effectiveness of which against Covid-19 has never been rigorously demonstrated.
"There is a good chance it can have a huge impact. It would be a gift from heaven if it worked, ”he said.
The Republican President himself later received preventive treatment with hydroxychloroquine for two weeks.
Newsletter - The essentials of the news
Every morning, the news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
But the FDA had warned on April 25 against the use of the two antimalarials "outside of a hospital environment or clinical trials because of the risk of heart rhythm disorders".
France, where a controversial doctor, Professor Didier Raoult, defended and shone the spotlight on hydroxychloroquine, banned its use on May 28 against Covid-19.