Trump told a group of restaurant executives he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine for “about a week and a half now,” but what are the implications of taking this drug? Here’s what to know
Hydroxychloronique. Photo: John Locher/AP/Shutterstock For the past two months, Donald Trump has repeatedly touted a malaria drug called hydroxychloroquine as a potential “game changer” in the fight against coronavirus — much to the distress of health officials.
What is hydroxychloroquine? Hydroxychloroquine is a prescription medicine that the FDA has approved for the treatment of malaria, as well as autoimmune diseases including lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It has not been approved for treating or preventing COVID-19. It is also known under the brand name Plaquenil.
Is it safe to take? If used correctly, the drug is relatively safe for patients who do not have underlying health issues. However, the FDA has strongly cautioned against the use of hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus outside of a hospital or clinical-trial setting, as the drug could cause serious heart problems. Additionally, as the Times notes, severely ill coronavirus patients often suffer organ damage, so taking hydroxychloroquine could be dangerous for those patients.
What has Trump said about it? In mid-March, not long after conservative media and “philosophers” began fixating on the drug, Trump started touting hydroxychloroquine as a potential “game changer” in the fight against coronavirus. Around this time, he falsely claimed that hydroxychloroquine had shown “very, very encouraging early results” , and that the FDA had “gone through the approval process” .
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