NORFOLK, Va. — The race to find a treatment and vaccine for COVID-19 is on.
Recently, President Trump touted an antimalarial drug commonly used for chronic illness as a possible "game-changer" in the fight against the coronavirus. The medication, hydroxychloroquine, also known as Plaquenil, is already used by patients with auto-immune illnesses such as lupus.
Health officials are still working to determine whether the drug is effective in treating COVID-19.
In the meantime, Virginia State Health Commissioner Dr. Norman Oliver released a letter addressing recent claims about the drug being used to treat COVID-19. Oliver said people around the country have begun hoarding and stockpiling it, which has led to shortages.
The shortages put people like Whitney Duenas at risk. Duenas developed lupus after a car accident in 2016. The Poquoson woman takes Plaquenil daily in order to manage the chronic illness.
“I look perfectly healthy on the outside -- that’s what everyone always says -- but on the inside, my body’s constantly fighting itself,” said Duenas.
“I'm on 400 milligrams every day. Without it, nothing’s being replenished. Your health just spirals downwards. If you can’t get your medicine, then you can no longer find your way into remission again.”
Dr. Edward Oldfield, an Infectious Disease Expert at Eastern Virginia Medical School said the drug is being used to treat COVID-19 patients in the Commonwealth.
“They’ve actually needed to have a lot of states now, not accept or fill a prescription unless you have a definitive diagnosis and it’s gone so far that Kaiser Permanente has actually taken hydroxychloroquine, or Plaquenil, and it’s not letting rheumatoid arthritis patients refill it so it can be saved to treat patients with COVID-19.”
In addition to having lupus, Duenas is a rheumatoid arthritis patient as well. She worries she may run into problems getting her prescription refilled.
“If I get sick, my liver, kidney, and heart can all fail at once,” said Duenas.
Christine Barrille, Executive Director of the Virginia Pharmacists Association said they have not received any reports of the drug shortage in the Commonwealth, but it’s something they’re keeping a close eye on.