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| Coronavirus: Trump taking unproven drug hydroxychloroquine | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| US President Donald Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine - which health officials have warned may be unsafe - to ward off coronavirus. | |
| Speaking at the White House, he told reporters he started taking the malaria and lupus medication recently. | Speaking at the White House, he told reporters he started taking the malaria and lupus medication recently. |
| "I'm taking it for about a week and a half now and I'm still here, I'm still here," he said. | "I'm taking it for about a week and a half now and I'm still here, I'm still here," he said. |
| There is no evidence hydroxychloroquine can fight off coronavirus, though clinical trials are under way. | |
| Asked on Monday what was his evidence of the drug's positive benefits, Mr Trump said: "Here's my evidence, I get a lot of positive calls about it." | Asked on Monday what was his evidence of the drug's positive benefits, Mr Trump said: "Here's my evidence, I get a lot of positive calls about it." |
| The president - who has repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine - suggested many medical workers were also taking the drug. | |
| "You'd be surprised at how many people are taking, and especially the frontline workers before you catch it, the frontline workers many, many are taking it," he told reporters. | |
| The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) say there are no approved drugs or therapeutics to prevent or treat Covid-19. | |
| The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last month issued an advisory that hydroxychloroquine has "not been shown to be safe and effective". | |
| It cited reports that the drug can cause serious heart rhythm problems in Covid-19 patients. | |
| The FDA warned against use of the medication outside hospitals, where the agency has granted temporary authorisation for its use if clinical trials are unavailable. | |
| When asked whether the White House physician recommended he start taking the drug, Mr Trump said he had asked about it himself. | |
| "I asked him, what do you think? He said, 'well, if you'd like it', I said yeah, I'd like it." | |
| Mr Trump also told reporters on Monday hydroxychloroquine "seems to have an impact". | |
| "And maybe it does, maybe it doesn't, but if it doesn't, you're not going to get sick and die." | |
| He added: "I've heard a lot of good stories and if it's not good, I'll tell you right I'm not going to get hurt by it." |