Liliboas/iStock(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — President Trump told reporters at the White House Monday that he’s been taking hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug that he has repeatedly insisted is effective as a treatment against COVID-19.
The president said he’s been taking one pill a day for about a week-and-a-half, after consulting with the White House physician.
“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 to take it a lot of frontline workers are taking hydroxychloroquine.” Trump claimed. “So, I’m taking the zinc and the hydroxy. And all I can tell you is, so far I seem to be okay.”
In response to a follow-up question, President Trump said he’s exhibited “zero symptoms” of COVID-19, saying he was taking the drug as a preventative, and adding, “What do you have to lose?”
Trump for weeks has touted hydroxychloroquine as a “game changer” in the fight against COVID-19. However, no study so far has shown any benefit to taking hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, nor as an effective measure in preventing infection by the virus. Last month, the FDA specifically warned against taking the drug “outside of a hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems.”
In addition to malaria, hydroxychloroquine is also used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
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