President Donald Trump says he’s pushed the Food and Drug Administration to eliminate barriers to getting therapeutics for coronavirus to patients.
He said a drug currently used as an antimalarial — hydroxychloroquine — would be made available almost immediately to treat coronavirus.
“It’s been around for a long time so we know if things don’t go as planned it’s not going to kill anybody,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
“We have to remove every barrier or a lot of barriers that were unnecessary and they’ve done that to get the rapid deployment of safe, effective treatments and we think we have some good answers,” Trump said.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn carefully tempered the President’s remarks regarding his team’s work to develop treatments for coronavirus.
“The FDA is committed to continuing to provide regulatory flexibility and guidance, but let me make one thing clear: the FDA’s responsibility to the American people is to ensure that products are safe and effective,” he said.
more at cnn.com
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