Coronavirus: Donald Trump Defends the Use of Hydroxychloroquine

In March, the United States President, Donald Trump, surprised the public by saying he had begun taking the malaria medication, hydroxychloroquine to ward off the coronavirus.

However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force, told BBC on Wednesday that hydroxychloroquine was not effective against the virus.

“We know that every single good study – and by good study, I mean randomized control study in which the data are firm and believable – has shown that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of Covid-19,” he said.

But the president has again defended the use of the unproven medication to ward off coronavirus, contradicting his public health officials.

Trump said the hydroxychloroquine was only rejected as a COVID-19 treatment because he had recommended its use. He made the remarks after his eldest son was banned on Twitter from posting a clip promoting hydroxychloroquine and the clip was banned from social media.

The clip promoting the unproven medication showed doctors speaking outside the US Supreme Court building at an event organized to help fund a pro-Trump political action committee.

In the video, Dr. Stella Emmanuel, a doctor from Houston, says she has successfully treated 350 coronavirus patients and counting with hydroxychloroquine.

The president said on Tuesday: “I think they’re very respected doctors. There was a woman who was spectacular in her statements about it.”

“Treatment options for COVID-19 should be debated, and spoken about among our colleagues in the medical field,” America’s Frontline Doctors’ founder, Simone Gold, accused social media companies of censorship of removing the hydroxychloroquine video. “They should never, however, be censored and silenced.”

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned against using the unproven medication to treat coronavirus patients, following reports of serious heart rhythm problems and other health issues.

Moreso, the World Health Organization (WHO) says there is currently no proof that it is useful as a treatment or prevents Covid-19.

The president told the reporters while he was preparing to visit Odessa, Texas, for a fundraising event on Wednesday. He said, “I can only say that from my standpoint, and based on a lot of reading and a lot of knowledge about it, I think it could have a very positive impact in the early stages.

“I don’t think you lose anything by doing it; other than politically, it doesn’t seem too popular,” he said.

Donald Trump added: “When I recommend something, they like to say ‘don’t use it.”

The United States now has more than 4.3 million reported cases of coronavirus and more than 149,000 deaths.