States and local governments are stockpiling hydroxychloroquine and have obtained about 30 million doses of it, as first reported by the Associated Press.
At least 22 states and Washington, D.C., have acquired shipments of the drug.
The FDA warned April 24 against using hydroxychloroquine outside of a hospital or clinical trial, citing serious heart complications in COVID-19 patients being treated with it. Prescriptions of the drug increased by 46 times the average after President Donald Trump promoted the drug used to treat malaria during a March news conference.
Oklahoma spent $2 million to buy hydroxychloroquine, and Utah and Ohio spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on the drug, The Hill reported.
Other states have received free shipments from drugmakers or the U.S. government in the last month.
New Jersey drugmaker Amneal Pharmaceuticals reportedly sent donations of hydroxychloroquine to New York, Connecticut, Oregon, Louisiana, North Carolina and Texas. Teva Pharmaceuticals donated 1 million doses to Florida, according to The Hill.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency said April 24 it sent 14.4 million doses of the drug to 14 cities from the government's strategic national stockpile.
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