A Michigan Democratic state representative says she won her battle against coronavirus because of hydroxychloroquine, and because of President Donald Trump's insistence that the medication works to treat the deadly disease.
"It has a lot to do with the president ... bringing it up," Rep. Karen Whitsett said, reports The Detroit Free Press.
Whitsett said she learned on Monday she'd tested positive for COVID-19, but she started taking hydroxychloroquine, prescribed by her doctor, on March 31, after both she and her husband sought treatment for a range of symptoms on March 18.
The lawmaker said she felt started to feel relief just a couple hours after taking the drug, when she had been suffering shortness of breath, swollen lymph nodes, and a suspected sinus infection. She said she is still suffering from headaches.
Whitsett said she'd experienced "the wonders" of hydroxychloroquine after taking it in the past for Lyme disease, but she doesn't think she would have asked for it or had it prescribed without Trump touting it as a COVID-19 treatment at his daily coronavirus briefings.
Some health professionals, however, have said the drug has not been properly tested and could have dangerous side effects. Further, there are complaints that Trump's comments are causing a shortage of the drug, when people are using it for lupus and other diseases.
But Whitsett said Trump's comments helped her, and "he is the only person who has the power to make it a priority."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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