Hospital orders for old malaria drugs have spiked amid coronavirus pandemic

As speculation mounted in recent weeks that a pair of old malaria drugs could combat Covid-19, hospitals across the U.S. quickly placed orders, but often could not receive as many tablets as hoped. That trend intensified after President Trump touted the medicines, according to new data.

About 40,000 tablets of hydroxycholoroquine were ordered on Jan. 31, and about 95% of orders were filled. By March 16, more than 550,000 tablets had been ordered and the fill rate fell to 60%. By last Friday, after Trump talked up the drug during a media briefing, 1.5 million tablets had been ordered, but just 12% of the orders were filled. Orders have jumped 2,196% since the pandemic was declared.

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