Nigeria has warned against using the drug chloroquine to fight COVID-19 after three people were hospitalized after overdosing on it, according to a CNN report.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said at a briefing that the Food and Drug Administration had approved the drug for treatment of the coronavirus. “It was approved very, very quickly and it’s now approved, by prescription,” Trump said.
The FDA, however, released a statement after the president’s briefing saying that the agency is “investigating” the use of the drug that is “already approved for treating malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis to determine whether it can be used to treat patients with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 . . .”
The Lagos State Health Ministry also released a statement about chloroquine saying, “We do not have any hard evidence that chloroquine is effective in preventing or managing COVID-19.”
CNN said one man saw the price of chloroquine rise by more than 400% in a few minutes.
Chloroquine has been used to treat malaria in parts of Africa where the disease is endemic.
