COVID-19: Trump use of hydroxycholoroquine - expert comment
19 May 2020
Professor Parastou Donyai, Director of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Reading said:
"When hydroxychloroquine was first rumoured to be helpful in COVID-19, many of us saw no evidence for this and asked people not to take a medicine we know instead to have many side-effects. The rumours were so strong that scientists, clinicians and governments were compelled to run experiments to test the effects of hydroxychloroquine for preventing and treating COVID-19.
"Even though studies continue to show that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for COVID-19, President Trump continues to support its use, now claiming to be taking the drug himself. This is yet another unscientific and dangerous example promoting rumours over research.
"People in authority should lead by example but when this fails, scientists have a duty to warn others to avoid these dangerous examples."
Dr Mark Shanahan, Head of Politics and International Relations at the University of Reading said:
"Donald Trump's touting of his use of hydroxychloroquine is both selfish and dangerous. Given there is no evidence to support its use in preventing coronavirus, he is both raising a false hope among gullible Americans, and potentially putting many at an even greater health risk.
"However, what Trumps says, others do, and there's likely to be a run on hydroxychloroquine use - and that means less of the product available for those who really need it, sufferers of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
"So why's Trump doing this? It actually follows his normal pattern, acting on gut feel and confirmatory bias rather than on any solid advice - and as often, rejecting advice from experts. Sometimes his decisions pay off. This time? Far less likely. Another bleach and sunlight treatment that grabs the media attention and deflects from the Administration's chaotic response to Covid-19."
Dr Rohan Deb Roy, Co-director of the Centre for Health Humanities at the University of Reading said:
"The Wellcome Trust, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, and the National Institutes of Health in the United States are in the process of conducting clinical trials to determine if HCQ is a viable antidote for COVID-19. So far, the results are unknown. Also, harmful side-effects of the drug haven't been ruled out. At this point, President Trump's insistence that he has been taking regular doses of HCQ is potentially misleading. Until we know more about the conclusive results of these trials, HCQ represents false hope."