cekimdeyim / iStock When the first cases of COVID-19 were identified in the spring of 2020, there was little to no guidance on how to treat them. Two research letters published last week in separate JAMA journals looked at how drug dispensing in US retail pharmacies and Italian hospitals changed as more information came to light—and, not surprisingly, they reveal early demand for drugs promoted with little evidence for their efficacy. The studies reported increased demand for the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, the anti-parasitic ivermectin, the antibiotic azithromycin, and the antiviral combination lopinavir-ritonavir, an HIV drug. They also showed high demand for zinc and vitamin C.