WASHINGTON, D.C. – Former President Donald Trump’s promotion of hydroxychloroquine as a potential game changer against COVID-19 has been debunked by numerous medical studies. Despite his endorsement, the controversial drug has been linked to nearly 17,000 deaths, according to a recent study published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.
Hydroxychloroquine, originally an anti-malaria medication, gained widespread attention during the initial wave of the pandemic when Trump touted it as a possible cure for the virus. However, French researchers later found that the use of hydroxychloroquine led to an 11% increase in COVID patients’ mortality rate, resulting in an estimated 16,990 deaths across six countries.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration initially approved the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine for hospitalized COVID patients in March 2020, but later revoked authorization due to adverse cardiac events. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) also ended its clinical trials into hydroxychloroquine after finding it was highly unlikely to benefit hospitalized COVID patients.
Despite these findings, Trump continued to advocate for the drug, claiming it had “tremendous support” and dismissing statements of its inefficacy as a political tactic against him. A study published in the National Library of Medicine even found a correlation between Trump’s public advocacy of the drug and an increase in online searches and purchases of it.
The recent study in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy found the highest number of hydroxychloroquine-related deaths in the U.S., with 12,739 reported fatalities. The study also highlighted the toxicity of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients, pointing to its cardiac side effects as a contributing factor.
In conclusion, the researchers emphasized the importance of limiting off-label use of treatments until accurate data and evidence are produced. The study serves as a cautionary tale, highlighting the hazards of drug repurposing with low-level evidence for the management of future pandemics.