US health officials on Monday withdrew permission to use two treatments for the coronavirus, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, a time championed by President Donald Trump. "It is no longer reasonable to believe that oral administration of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine is effective in the treatment of Covid-19," said the head of science for the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) in a letter. ) Denise Hinton.
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"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.
A first warning at the end of April
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 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 that it could have a huge impact. It would be a godsend if it worked," he said. The Republican President himself later received preventive treatment with hydroxychloroquine for two weeks.
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But the FDA had warned on April 25 against using the two antimalarials "outside of a hospital 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.