Trump says he’s taking controversial COVID-19 drug hydroxychloroquine

US President Donald Trump says he has taken hydroxychloroquine, a controversial antimalarial drug that has been advertised as a possible COVID-19 treatment“For about a week and a half”, despite the lack of evidence, it can prevent coronavirus infection.

The Food and Drug Administration has granted the drug, which is also used to treat conditions such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, emergency approval status so that it can also be administered to patients COVID-19 in clinical studies or hospital environments. However, the FDA warns against use outside of these circumstances as this is the case It is known to cause irregular heartbeat.

During a briefing in the White House on Monday, Trump discussed the treatment and found that “many, many” front-line workers were taking the drug before saying “I accidentally take it.” When a reporter asked why, Trump said, “Because I think it’s good, I’ve heard a lot of good stories.” He clarified that he was taking both zinc and hydroxychloroquine and said he had not been exposed to COVID-19.

When asked if the treatment was recommended by the White House doctor, Trump said, “Yes, the White House doctor did not recommend – no, I asked him,” What do you think? “He said,” Well if you would like it. “I said,” Yes, I would like to take it. ‘

“A lot of people take it, a lot of front workers take hydroxychloroquine,” he said. “There is a very good chance that this will have an impact early on.”

The use of hydroxychloroquine as a preventive against COVID-19 is not covered by the FDA’s emergency approval guidelines.

Trump had long argued for the potential of hydroxychloroquine when, together with azithromycin, an antibiotic, tweeted in March that the combination treatment had “a real chance to be one of the greatest game changers in medical history”.

The weight of scientific evidence currently suggests that COVID-19 patients do not see improved clinical results with hydroxychloroquine. Have studies showed an increase in mortality and combination studies with azithromycin as well couldn’t show any benefits. There are undesirable events also more common among those who receive the drug. There is a varied clinical picture for COVID-19 patients with symptoms ranging from mild to severe. In order to adequately assess the effect of hydroxychloroquine, it must be tested in several patients.

Gaetan Burgio, a geneticist and infectious disease expert at the Australian National University, has followed the published clinical data on hydroxychloroquine and says that “there is growing evidence that hydroxychloroquine does not provide prophylactic and curative protection against COVID-19.”

Regarding Trump, he notes: “There is no evidence that it will protect him from COVID-19.”

Researchers are still trying to understand how hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin and zinc can benefit patients with COVID-19. There are currently more than 160 hydroxychloroquine studies in progress, with the majority evaluating the drug’s effects on fighting COVID-19 infection. According to the Clinical Trials website of the National Institutes of Health. Only a handful of these studies rated the drug’s effects as prophylactic. A systematic review, published in April in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases, suggested that there is a “lack of evidence” to support its use as a preventive treatment option.