‘There could be deaths’: Top doctor hits back at Trump’s claim coronavirus patients should try malaria drug
The American Medical Association’s (AMA) top doctor has said that Donald Trump’s promotion of an anti-malarial drug to treat the coronavirus could cause deaths.
According to the head of the AMA, Dr. Patrice Harris, there could be many “negative side effects,” for Americans using hydroxychloroquine.
The president has previously recommended the use of the anti-malarial drug as a possible treatment for the Covid-19 virus, despite White House medical experts cautioning that there is little evidence to support widespread use.
On Sunday, Mr Trump pushed harder in support of hydroxychloroquine, saying it could be a “way out” for the US as the number of cases in the country surpassed 300,000 at the weekend.
“I want them to try it, and it may work and it may not work. But if it doesn’t work, there is nothing lost by doing it,” said President Trump on Sunday. “What do you have to lose?”
At the same time, clinical trials are testing whether or not the anti-malarial drug can block transmission of the virus. Results from these tests are expected in around a month’s time.
An ER physician and researcher at Brown University, Dr. Megan Ranney, later told CNN that the president’s advice to Americans made her “nervous”.
According to the physician, the drug’s side effects included “paranoia, hallucinations, suicidal thoughts”, and that “they are common enough that this should not be taken willy-nilly. It is not like water, it is not harmless, and it may have major side effects”.
Last month, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced that some health care providers in his state would combine hydroxychloroquine with an antibiotic drug in emergency cases.
More than 8,000 Americans have now been killed by the coronavirus.
Read more
When can we really expect coronavirus to end?
Everything you need to know on supermarket delivery slots
The dirty truth about washing your hands
Which countries around the world has coronavirus spread to?
Listen to the latest episode of The Independent Coronavirus Podcast
