COVID-19 Caused Hydroxychloroquine Issues for one third of Lupus Patients

In the week that President Donald Trump promoted use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in a press conference, prescriptions for the drugs (less than 28 tablets) surged nearly 2000% compared with the same week the previous year, researchers report in JAMA. In total, there were roughly 500,000 excess fills of hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine from Feb. 16 to Apr. 25, 2020, compared with a similar period in 2019. Separately, a survey by the Lupus Research Alliance found that 36% of some 330 patients with lupus had difficulty filling or could not fill their regular hydroxychloroquine prescriptions during this time.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2766773

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/covid-19-caused-hydroxychloroquine-issues-for-third-of-lupus-patients-new-lupus-research-alliance-survey-finds-301066621.html