Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci grabbed attention this week when he said that hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug which President Donald Trump has called a “game changer,” is not effective in fighting the coronavirus.
Fauci made the remark during a Wednesday morning appearance on CNN. Asked if the drug should be banned, Fauci responded, “I’m not so sure it should be banned. But clearly, the scientific data is really quite evident now about the lack of efficacy for it and even the possibility that there could be … adverse events, particularly with regards to cardiovascular and the arrhythmia that may be associated with it.”
He continued, “There was suspicion of [adverse effects] but as data comes in, it becomes more clear. So I’m not so sure you’d want to ban it, but certainly, the data are clear right now.”
Watch the video below:
Dr. Anthony Fauci says he’s “not so sure [hydroxychloroquine] should be banned” as a treatment for coronavirus, “but clearly the scientific data is really quite evident now about the lack of efficacy.” https://t.co/LzfX7XM9P9 pic.twitter.com/1thkE0GsN1
— CNN News Central (@NewsCentralCNN) May 27, 2020
Fauci has become a national figure during the coronavirus pandemic because of his role on the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force and his occasional remark that seems to contradict the commander-in-chief.
But his Wednesday CNN appearance was the first time that a member of the Trump administration has said that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in fighting the coronavirus.
President Donald Trump has consistently touted hydroxychloroquine and even said that he had been taking it as a preventative measure, previously saying, “I’ve been taking it for the last week and a half. A pill every day.”
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. The FDA has moved mountains – Thank You! Hopefully they will BOTH (H works better with A, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents)…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2020
However, the president has since said that he is no longer taking the drug.
Last week, top medical journal The Lancet, which Trump cited in his letter to the World Health Organization, published a study finding that there is a risk of death for some taking hydroxychloroquine.
The French health ministry has since banned the drug for coronavirus treatments and the WHO has paused their study on the drug due to safety concerns.