Despite studies that show hydroxychloroquine doesn’t help with coronavirus and can actually do more harm, today Donald Trump proclaimed that he has been taking the drug (watch above). He says he has been taking it as a preventative measure to ward off coronavirus:
“I’m taking it, hydroxychloroquine. A couple weeks ago I started taking it… I take a pill every day.”
When asked what evidence he has to prove it has a preventative effect, he said: “Here’s my evidence, I get a lot of positive calls about it.” But as the Washington Post points out, “Clinical trials, academic research and scientific analysis indicate that the danger of the drug is a significantly increased risk of death for certain patients, particularly those with heart problems.”
https://twitter.com/JonLemire/status/1262485461802590209
Late last week a new study from the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found “Administration of hydroxychloroquine did not result in a significantly higher probability of negative conversion than standard of care alone in patients admitted to hospital with mainly persistent mild to moderate covid-19. Adverse events were higher in hydroxychloroquine recipients than in non-recipients.”
Asked if the WH doctor recommended he take hydroxychloroquine, he said he asked and the doctor said, “Yeah, White House doctor…no, I asked him, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘Well if you’d like it.’ I said ‘Yeah I’d like it. I’d like to take it. A lot of people are taking it.’”
— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) May 18, 2020
Late Monday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi reacted.
“I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group, and in his, shall we say, weight group: ‘Morbidly obese,’ they say,” says House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Pres. Trump’s revelation he is taking hydroxychloroquine. pic.twitter.com/0ImjpEjg9q
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) May 19, 2020
And Trump’s admission even drew criticism from some Fox News personalities.
Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing editor of Fox News' health news, says that it is "highly irresponsible" for Trump to claim that he's now taking hydroxychloroquine.
He also wants the White House physician to explain what's changed since studies have shown no benefits. pic.twitter.com/QAxYVTM1kG
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 18, 2020
Fox News's Neil Cavuto is stunned by Trump's announcement that he's taking hydroxychloroquine: "If you are in a risky population here, and you are taking this as a preventative treatment … it will kill you. I cannot stress enough. This will kill you." pic.twitter.com/e6D5alfAgc
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 18, 2020