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Can Chloroquine Be Used To Treat Or Prevent COVID-19?

Tablets containing chloroquine.(Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty Images)
Tablets containing chloroquine.(Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty Images)

The Food and Drug Administration is walking back President Trump’s statement that the agency has approved the anti-malarial drug chloroquine as a treatment modality for COVID-19.

No drug has yet been approved to fight the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. But some physicians and hospitals have been using the drug off-label, and manufacturers say they’ll soon be experiencing shortages.

The University of Minnesota is conducting a study to see whether chloroquine can protect people who have coronavirus exposure. Host Robin Young talks to Dr. Len Horovitz, a pulmonologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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