Amid the optimism surrounding anti-malarial drug chloroquine as a possible treatment option for people infected with COVID19, MSNBC senior national correspondent Chris Jansing would like to chime in with a hearty dose of reality:

An MD friend just texted me – livid- that the President suggested drugs to help are available “for immediate delivery”. In fact – the FDA chief points out – chloroquine IS approved as an anti-malarial but needs clinical trials before being used for coronavirus. NOT immediate — Chris Jansing (@ChrisJansing) March 19, 2020

Maybe you should tell your “MD friend” to slow his or her roll, Chris.

Who is your MD friend? Let us know their name so the public can avoid this moron. Thank you in advance. — ???? (@Rockprincess818) March 19, 2020

Heh.

You know that the drug is available and that doctors make "off Label" use of them all of the time, right? — Dara (@daratancredi) March 19, 2020

If I may, physicians in the U.S. are free to prescribe chloroquine off-label for any use they see fit. — RepublicanDore (@RepublicanDore) March 19, 2020

Legally – it CAN be prescribed. — Bonnie O (@bloc52) March 19, 2020

This is wrong. US doctors are permitted to prescribe FDA-approved drugs for “off label” uses. https://t.co/jk3vYqpvEt — Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) March 19, 2020

A drug or biologic can legally be prescribed for an off-label purpose once it has been approved by the FDA, even if the approval was for another purpose. It does not have to undergo further clinical trials to be legal, though clearly evidence-gathering is important and prudent. https://t.co/F0zesoxNLx — Nan Hayworth, M.D. (@NanHayworth) March 19, 2020

Yes, but doctors can use it off label. Your MD friend is wrong. That said, it isn't proven to work. So… https://t.co/0LDRKyn0bU — Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) March 19, 2020

Seriously, if Jansing was looking for a way to rain on the chloroquine parade, there are better, more reality-based ways to do it:

America…don't run to your pharmacy to buy chloroquine. For the love of everything holy, don't. This drug is really needed only for those VERY SICK. The rest of us likely won't benefit from it. https://t.co/T01RYqq4be — Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) March 19, 2020

Also, according to friends in the military, you really don't want the side effects of chloroquine unless you are definitely sure having coronavirus will be worse (and that's a tough balance). https://t.co/C6cqf2uiUf — Emily Zanotti (@emzanotti) March 19, 2020