VANCOUVER -- British Columbia's College of Pharmacists is telling its members not fill prescriptions for certain medications if the drugs are being prescribed for unproven uses, outside of a clinical trial.
A statement from the college says health professionals are aware of growing demands on social media for access to antiviral or antibiotic drugs to treat COVID-19.
The college says a proven treatment for COVID-19 does not yet exist and using unproven therapies is not only dangerous, it could risk the health of those who need those drugs for legitimate treatments.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently called the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine a “game changer” in fighting the new coronavirus, but the college includes that drug in its warning.
It says other unproven treatments include a powerful antibiotic and antivirals prescribed to treat HIV/AIDS.
The college says, outside of clinical trials, doctors and nurse practitioners should not prescribe those drugs for COVID-19 treatment and pharmacists are instructed not to fill prescriptions if they do.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 26, 2020.
