With US President Donald Trump describing hydroxychloroquine as a "game changer" in the fight against COVID-19 and several countries, including India, approving it for emergencies, pharmacies are reporting a surge in demand for the drug yet to be proven as a cure against the disease.
Though there have been no large-scale clinical trials of the drug's efficacy in treating coronavirus, chemists all over say they are facing a shortage of the medicine, not so long ago known mainly to those who had malaria or were prescribed it for arthritis pain.
Hydroxychloroquine entered the layperson's lexicon with Trump's tweet on March 21. A few days later, several countries approved it for restricted use in coronavirus emergencies and for certain categories of people only.
And while the White House's own infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci countered theclaims, adding that the drug's effectiveness was only "anecdotal" and needed controlled clinical trials to prove its effectiveness, Trump's tweets had already had a ripple effect across the globe.
"The drug has been out of stock ever since Trump tweeted about it," a pharmacist from New Delhi's Kailash Colony told PTI on the condition of anonymity. He added that efforts are being made to restock the medicines.
Asked about the current availability of the drug in the country, a pharmacist in the city's Govindpuri area said the drug has been out of stock in his store for days. He also expressed concern that patients with joint aches and other bone related conditions are being deprived of the drug, prescribed to them by their doctors.
"We do not have a supply for more than a week and we have asked the distributors to resupply the medicine," added another chemist nearby.
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According to Dr Rohini Handa,senior consultant rheumatologist at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, arthritis patients have been finding it difficult to get hydroxychloroquine for the last 10 days.
"Ever since news came out in the media that it may help fight coronavirus infection, there has been indiscriminatebuying by people. So it seems to have disappeared from the market," Handa told PTI.
"Everyday I am getting phones, and emails from my patients who are not able to get it In rheumatology, this is an anchored drug for many conditions. And we are apprehensive that the non availabilitymay lead to a flare-up of arthritis in these patients, he explained.
People need to realise that not every person in this country needs hydroxychloroquine, Handa said.
Two days after the US president's tweet, the Indian Council of Medical Research on March 23 recommended that the drug be reserved in India only for healthcare workers, and persons caring for COVID-19 patients in households.
The protocol was then approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) for restricted use in emergency situations
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