Assessment of Outpatient Dispensing of Products Proposed for Treatment or Prevention of COVID-19 by US Retail Pharmacies During the Pandemic

Abstract

Prior to November 2020, there were no US Food and Drug Administration-authorized products for outpatient coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) prevention or treatment. There have been surges in prescriptions for products (such as hydroxychloroquine¹) proposed to treat COVID-19, but only approved for other conditions. We sought to determine if outpatient retail dispensing frequency of proposed treatments for COVID-19 increased since the March 13, 2020, declaration of a national emergency due to COVID-19.