QUEENSLAND BAN ON COVID CURE DRUG
Doctors who prescribe an anti-malarial drug being trumpeted as a potential COVID-19 treatment face a $13,000 fine.
New prescription rules, brought into effect in Queensland on Tuesday, mean clinicians are banned from prescribing the drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a COVID-19 treatment.
Worldwide shortages were caused after US President Donald Trump tweeted about the drug’s potential last month.
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Mr Trump spruiked the drug again at the weekend and urged Americans to take it despite a lack of strong evidence the medication is safe to use in COVID-19 patients.
The new law, introduced under public health powers granted to the state's top doctor, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young, is also aimed at stopping pharmacies and GP clinics from stockpiling the medication.
Under the public health order, only some specialists are allowed to prescribe the drug and it must be for the ongoing treatment of a chronic disease or as part of a clinical trial.
The University of Queensland is on the verge of starting a large clinical trial, involving 60 hospitals across Australia, with hydroxychloroquine and another a HIV medication.
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https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/doctors-banned-from-prescribing-potential-covid-19-drug-20200408-p54ic1.html