The state of Florida earlier this year went big on hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug touted by President Donald Trump as a "game changer" in treating the novel coronavirus.
However, Politico reports that Florida is now stuck with an estimated 980,000 unused doses of hydroxychloroquine after hospitals in the state have not used it to treat COVID-19 patients.
"Only 16,100 doses have been shipped to six hospitals as of Thursday, according to state records," Politico reports. "The biggest batch -- 7,500 -- went to Baptist health in Duval County. The rest went to hospitals owned by Altamonte Springs-based AdventHealth."
Trump has been pushing the drug as a treatment for coronavirus patients even though multiple studies have said that it is not an effective treatment for people who contract the disease.
Helen Aguirre Ferré, a spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, defended the state's decision to acquire the drug even though it has been of almost no use so far.
"This medication is a drug of last resort and given that the availability of ICU bed availability and ventilator use remains steady, it may be that the need is not present at this time," she told Politico. "Hydroxychloroquine is available should hospitals require it."
