Trump’s drug shock

President taking anti-malaria drug as coronavirus precaution

YOU can’t say Donald Trump doesn’t put his money where his mouth is.

After months of suggesting the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine could be of benefit in treating coronavirus, the US President has revealed he has been taking the drug as a preventive measure for more than a week.

“I’m taking it for about a week-and-half now and I’m still here,” Mr Trump said.

“You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers before you catch it … many, many are taking it.”

The drug, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1955 to prevent malaria, has been touted as a potential treatment for coronavirus, particularly in early-stage patients.

But hydroxychloroquine has been a subject of controversy ever since Mr Trump mentioned it in a press conference on March 19.

At the time, a number of early studies found some level of improvement in patients, and in April a survey of 6200 doctors around the world said that hydroxychloroquine was the most effective treatment they had found thus far.

This came as French doctors published findings that showed the drug, when combined with the antibiotic azithromycin, seemed to be an effective cure.

Others have been more cautious, however, and at least one study into the drug has been halted because of patients reporting issues with heart rhythm.

The drug has also become something of a political football, with Mr Trump’s advocacy leading to bizarre claims for and against.

Health experts have sounded a cautious note about Mr Trump’s self-medication regimen.

Last week, the Australian Border Force warned Australians not to import hydroxychloroquine or self-prescribe it to treat or prevent coronavirus.