US FDA ends emergency use of hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday announced to withdraw the emergency use authorisation (EUA) for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as treatment for severe COVID-19 patients.

The decision on the so-called 'wonder drug' as touted by the US President Donald Trump is taken in the wake of recent clinical trials that showed that the antimalarial drugs were not effective against the coronavirus.

"In light of ongoing serious cardiac adverse events and other serious side effects, the known and potential benefits" of hydroxychloroquine no longer outweigh those risks, the FDA wrote on its website on Monday.

On March 28, the US FDA issued