Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed an executive order preventing hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine from being used to treat patients with the Wuhan coronavirus. Television doctor Mehmet Oz, host of the "Dr. Oz Show" said Cuomo needs to reverse the order so the treatment could be utilized, especially in New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak, the Daily Caller reported.
"Hydrochloroquine, along with Azithromycin, and maybe Zinc, have shown, everywhere I read, tremendous, tremendous opportunities to treat people to prevent death," Hannity said. "I want to see more of that. Novartis has said they will now produce and give Americans 130 million doses. The Israelis have already donated six million. They're about to donate four million more. Bayer is also producing it."
According to the Fox News host, he's "frustrated" with Gov. Cuomo's executive order requiring people to go to the hospital for treatment.
"The order, to me, has to be lifted," Hannity said. "Do you agree or disagree?"
Dr. Oz said he agreed with the need to remove the executive order.
"I suspect there were concerns for the folks with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus who are dependent on Chloroquine and couldn't get it, theoretically, if people were hoarding it and I think that's why Gov. Cuomo passed that law, to prevent people from taking it and just putting it in their cupboard just in case," Dr. Oz explained. "... It's an inexpensive old Malaria drug. We'll have enough of it eventually. We ought to lift that ban and let patients – I have a close friend in New York City who doctors say, 'I'd give it to you but you can't find it' – and they're right. And so you sort of stop the whole process."
The television doctor reminded Hannity that the drug was not approved to treat the Wuhan coronavirus. Vice President Mike Pence, however, said he would be more than happy to give the green light to the FDA to approve the treatment.
"Many doctors are prescribing it. Until we get the randomized clinical data, which I'm hoping we'll have over the next few months, we're not going to know for sure," Oz said. "... There are centers all over the world, in France and in China, who are researching this actively, as we are in America. You're going to see more publications and we're going to see if it really works or not."
On Sunday, the FDA gave emergency authorization for the pair of drugs to be used for the treatment of the Wuhan coronavirus.