The US now has 66 million surplus anti-malaria pills after the FDA revoked an emergency waiver allowing chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine

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• The US now has 66 million excess anti-malaria pills after the FDA U-turned on chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.
• The FDA said the drugs were likely ineffective in treating COVID-19, and could be dangerous. It previously allowed the drugs to be used in hospitalized coronavirus patients.
• The government has sent out 31 million hydroxychloroquine tablets to state agencies, The New York Times reported, and now has 63 million left over, alongside 3 million chloroquine pills.
• Officials are now trying to figure out what to do with the excess drugs, and are working to "determine to available options," the Department of Health and Human Services said.
• Dr. Rick Bright, the former head of the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), said they "should be destroyed."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The US is sitting on a pile of 66 million anti-malaria pills after they were scrapped as a treatment for COVID-19 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The FDA approved chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for use on hospitalized COVID-19 patients on March 28 but revoked it on Monday, less than three months later, following debate over their efficacy and safety.

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