Nikita shares that the chemists in her neighbourhood had the supplies, but they had been ordered to only give them to COVID-19 hospitals. “I have been informed about a medical camp that has a stock of HCQ. But that’s 15 km away from where I live. With the lockdown in place, travelling is a major issue. I live alone, I don’t have a car. How do I go and get it? Even government pharmacies are far from my place, and visiting hospitals is risky for already immunocompromised people like us.”

Another possible explanation for the disappearance of the drugs from pharmacies is hoarding and panic-buying by the general population, hoping to self-medicate to stay protected from the virus. “We have reason to believe that this is what started the shortage in the first place,” Dr Patil said.

It was in order to address this misuse that the ministry of health categorised HCQ as a Schedule H1 Drug, meaning that it can only be sold on a prescription by a qualified medical professional.

According to reports, the supply shortage of the drug has even led doctors in many parts of the country to take tough calls on whom to give the medicine. Some hospitals in Chennai, which still have HCQ in their pharmacies, are being forced to only give it to patients with severe pain and swellings in their joints.

Dr Sham Santhanam, a city-based rheumatologist told The Huffington Post,