President Donald Trump on Saturday continued to tout a malaria drug and antibiotic combination as “game changers” for the coronavirus outbreak — though evidence comes from one small experiment.
In a morning tweet, Trump pleaded that both be “put in use immediately.”
“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!” he wrote.
“Hopefully they will BOTH…be put in use IMMEDIATELY. PEOPLE ARE DYING, MOVE FAST, and GOD BLESS EVERYONE!”
In the tweet, he referenced a study on the combination treatment with 30 confirmed coronavirus patients in China, in which they were treated either hydroxychloroquine alone, or in combination with the antibiotic. They found the combo shortened the duration of the infection.
At a news briefing on Friday, Trump insisted he felt “good about” the drug cocktail.
“That’s all it is. Just a feeling,” he said at the daily update on the outbreak. “You know, I'm a smart guy. I feel good about it. And we're going to see. You're going to see soon enough.”
His experts have been more cautious.
Asked Friday — at the same news conference Trump hyped the combo treatment — if hydroxychloroquine could be used to prevent COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, replied "no."
“The information that you’re referring to specifically is anecdotal,” Fauci added. “It was not done in a controlled clinical trial, so you really can’t make any definitive statement about it.”
Meanwhile, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn has also downplayed the potency of the drug on COVID-19, saying this week he does not want to “provide false hope,” The Hill reported.
“We may have the right drug, but it might not be in the appropriate dosage form right now, and it might do more harm than good,” he said.
During the week, Trump falsely claimed drugs had been approved by the FDA to treat coronavirus.