The BC colleges of pharmacists, nurses, and physicians and surgeons are advising their members not to prescribe or fill certain prescriptions for drugs that may help treat cases of COVID-19 – including one promoted by US President Donald Trump.

Outside of already approved uses – the drugs Azithromycin, Lopinavir/Ritonavir, Colchicine, and the one touted by President Trump – Chloroquine will not be prescribed.

“We feel that it would be inappropriate at this point in time for patients to be receiving colchicine for COVID-19 outside of a structured, properly designed research trial,” said College of Pharmacists Registrar Bob Nakagawa, while speaking on NL Newsday.

Nakagawa says chloroquine is used for more things than just as an anti-malarial.

“We would be concerned about say for chloroquine as an example that patients with rheumatoid arthritis might need that drug and they might come to the pharmacy which has a very low need to stock chloroquine, large amounts anyway, and that they would deplete that supply,” he said.

In Arizona this week, a man died and his wife ended up in critical condition after taking chloroquine in a form used commonly used to clean fish tanks at aquariums tanks, because the president said it might protect them from coronavirus.

While chloroquine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, it has not been approved to treat the coronavirus.