Prescriptions for two malaria drugs surged after Donald Trump's praise as COVID-19 treatment: NYT

By that evening, first-time prescriptions of the drugs - chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine - flooded into retail pharmacies at more than 46 times the rate of the average weekday, according to a New York Times analysis of prescription data, the report said.

The 32,000 prescriptions came from a broad range of doctors, including rheumatologists, cardiologists, dermatologists, psychiatrists and podiatrists, according to the report.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has no approved treatment or vaccine. But hydroxychloroquine has been widely used in an attempt to alter the course of COVID-19 based on anecdotal reports that it may provide some benefit.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients even as Trump, who has touted it as a "game-changer," advocated for an additional review.

The FDA has allowed healthcare providers to use the drugs for COVID-19 through its emergency use authorization but has not approved them to treat the disease.

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