Everyone hopes the drug works but they don’t actually have all the facts yet. There’s no actual hard evidence that it’s working. Another antiviral showing promise is called Remsvir but it’s probably more expensive.
Nevertheless, doctors around the world, often with the approval of their national governments, are treating many patients with
experimental or “off-label” antiviral drugs.
Here are some names of the medicines: Chloroquine, Remdesivir, Ribavirin, favipiravir, lopinavir; ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, Sofosbuvir, corticosteroids, oseltamivir, zanamivir.
There can be some nasty mental side effects of this drug (chloroquine) too.
They all have adverse effects.
What to do?
Answer: decide that no one who is injured by the drugs can file a suit.
In America: Done.
From druganddevicelawblog.com, March 18, 2020,
“We Finally Have Something To Say About COVID-19”:
“On March 17, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published in the Federal Register a ‘notice of declaration’ conferring broad-based immunity from tort (including product liability) litigation for those engaging in ‘activities related to medical countermeasures against COVID-19.’ This declaration is now published at 85 Fed. Reg. 15198 (HHS March 17, 2020).”
“HHS is conferring tort immunity…The immunity extends to ‘any claim of loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the manufacture, distribution, administration, or use of medical countermeasures’…The immunity extends not only to COVID-19-fighting drugs, but also to ‘products or technologies intended to enhance the use or effect of a drug, biological product [vaccine], or device used against the pandemic’…The only exception is for ‘willful misconduct’.”
“The immunity being conferred shoves other federal laws aside as well as preempting state law.”
And that takes care of that.
A patient is given an antiviral drug and dies? No law suit can be filed. Anyone associated with the drug, from manufacturer down to prescribing doctor, is exempt from liability.
Chloroquine:
From webmd.com,
here is the “side effects” section (note: once the page loads, then click on the “Side Effects” tab at the top of the page):
