Some Recommend Unapproved Drug to Prevent COVID-19

More than 30 medical practices and compounding pharmacies have been recommending the injection of thymosin alpha-1, which does not have approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a preventive agent or treatment for COVID-19. The drug has been considered as a treatment for hepatitis B, some cancers, and SARS. While the FDA did give thymosin alpha-1 an “orphan drug designation” to encourage research of the medication, it has never moved beyond this status. As such, the drug is being distributed through compounding pharmacies, which develop and sell their own drugs. No evidence has shown that thymosin alpha-1 is effective against COVID-19, and public health officials are concerned with the possibility of undesirable side effects from its use. Read more here.