From the ER to the High School Football Field, People Want the Response to Covid-19 to Be Evidence-based, not Political

By the Children’s Health Defense Team

To date, the FDA has only approved a single therapeutic (Remdesivir) specifically for Covid-19—and that drug is, according to many, of questionable benefit. In situations where approved therapeutic options are lacking, health care providers typically draw on their knowledge of comparable ailments, their problem-solving skills and their prior experience using solidly vetted therapies and approaches from the medical toolkit. In fact, the FDA encourages them to do so, suggesting that health care providers engage in off-label prescribing (the prescription of a drug for a non-FDA-approved use) “when they judge that it is medically appropriate for their patient.” In the U.S., an estimated 12% to 38% of doctors’ prescriptions are for off-label uses. Although this practice has the potential for abuse…