President Donald Trump continued to promote the use of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malarial drug, to fight the coronavirus despite the advice of health experts.
On Sunday, Trump recommended the drug for the second day in a row at the White House briefing while standing by two top public health officials. As he said the drug was “being tested now,” Trump said that “there are some very strong, powerful signs” of the drug working, although health experts have said the drug’s effectiveness against the coronavirus still needs to be tested further.
“But what do I know? I’m not a doctor,” the president added. “If it does work, it would be a shame we did not do it early,” Trump said, noting that the federal government purchased 29 million pills of the drug to be tested. “We are sending them to various labs, our military, we’re sending them to the hospitals.”
“What do you have to lose?” the president said, suggesting terminally ill patients should try the drug.
CORONAVIRUS FAQ: WIKI OF MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When asked on Sunday about the drug, Trump stopped Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, from answering. “You know how many times he’s answered that question? Maybe 15 times,” the president said. Fauci has been much more skeptical of the drug than the president has.
