Attaboy for Gov. Ducey Restricting Rxs of Unproven COVID Treatments

I like to be fair and give credit when a politician gets it right. In the spirit of “even a broken clock is right twice a day,” I would like to acknowledge the following:

Governor Ducey has made a wise and effective decision.

Governor Ducey issued an Executive Order restricting the prescribing of Hydroxycloroquine and Cloroquine only to persons actually diagnosed with COVID-19 infections. The order also wisely limits such prescriptions to a 14 day supply and requires a new prescription for refills. These are useful and rational steps that, at least in some part, counter some very disturbing decisions at the federal level regarding these drugs.

The FDA has been reckless in it’s Emergency Use Approval of these drugs for off-label use as a possible therapy for COVID-19 infection (though only when a clinical trial is not available or feasible — whatever that might mean, in actual practice). But given the lack of any evidence of efficacy beyond purely anecdotal observations, a relative lack of harm by the drugs’ use is not reason enough to allow off-label usage to become widespread. I would not be surprised if a great deal of political pressure was brought to bear on the FDA to force this action, perhaps even by Trump himself.

Of course, people should certainly be able to participate in properly structured clinical trials of these drugs for investigational purposes during this all-hands-on-deck pandemic response, but a throw-anything-against-the-wall-which-is-even-merely-rumored-to-work methodology is foolish, reckless, and not effective practice of medicine.

However, what’s been done by this Administration can hardly be undone by a state governor. This is a wise move that Ducey actually has the power to take that may possibly prevent physician stock-piling and preventative prescribing, both of which have created a huge supply problem for people who rely on those medications for their on-label use in treating auto-immune disorders, not to mention the potential side-effects of these drugs on unsuspecting people, which are far from trivial.

Ducey has done his part to address the grave problems that were caused by President Trump’s very premature and ignorant touting of these drugs as a probable treatment or cure for the virus. Trump was, as usual, irresponsibly and ideologically speculating based on very little evidence — something that one should never do in front of a desperate and frightened public during a pandemic. It was inevitable that someone would get hurt by such misinformation.

Tragically, an Arizona man died, and his wife was gravely sickened, by ingesting a fish tank cleaning chemical that included chloroquine hydroxide, which is not the same as the medicine Chloroquine Phosphate, in an apparent misguided attempt to self-medicate. This President’s casual and constant reckless disregard for truth, facts and evidence was the direct and foreseeable cause of that tragedy.

And though it is already my firm belief that almost all of the eventual death toll of this pandemic can be fairly ascribed to Trump’s inaction and short-sightedness, this one particular life is certainly attributable solely to Trump’s propensity to dump constant streams of misdirecting bullshit into this country’s information bloodstream.

In sum, I’m gladdened that Ducey has taken this wise step to counter the ill effects of the President’s ignorant speculation. He still has not fully embraced a rigorous and scientifically-based approach to containing this epidemic in Arizona, but this is a good sign that he is possibly listening to someone rational and wise.