According to a recent scientific study, individuals who were prescribed an anti-malaria drug that was promoted by Donald Trump as a remedy for Covid-19 during the early stages of the pandemic and towards the end of his presidency had an 11% higher chance of succumbing to the virus.

The researchers of this study, who shared their results in the Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy journal, approximated that approximately 17,000 individuals in six countries, including the United States, passed away due to Covid-19 and the use of the antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine.

During the peak of Covid-19 measures aimed at reducing the spread of the virus, doctors who prescribed hydroxychloroquine were doing so without any clinical evidence of its effectiveness. The authors of a recent study emphasized the risks of using drugs for purposes they were not intended for, especially during a pandemic.

A comprehensive review of randomized trials revealed the results in the research published by Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, a journal that has been edited by DM Townsend of the Medical University of South Carolina for 67 years.

The researchers utilized public databases to determine the amount of individuals with Covid-19 who were admitted to the hospital in the beginning stages of the pandemic. They then thoroughly examined 44 group studies and concluded that there was a 11% rise in death rates for those who received hydroxychloroquine treatment. This resulted in approximately 16,990 fatalities within hospitals in the United States, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and Turkey.

In March 2020, Trump promoted hydroxychloroquine as a cure for Covid-19 and criticized lockdown measures, claiming they would damage the US economy.

His remarks about anti-malaria medication led to a surge in prescriptions for the drug. The Food and Drug Administration – which didn’t approve the first Covid-19 vaccine until December 2020 – was forced to warn that hydroxychloroquine could cause irregular heartbeats and other cardiac trouble.

The regulatory agency further explained that the medication was solely authorized for use in treating malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The former president rejected an initial research that indicated hydroxychloroquine was not an effective treatment for Covid-19, labeling it as a “statement from an enemy of Trump”.

At a certain point, Trump stated that the White House was administering the medication to individuals who were close to death, while also claiming that he was taking the medication as a preventative measure.

On September 26th, 2020, Trump received a positive Covid-19 test result and was admitted to the hospital shortly after. He was successfully treated with a new antibody treatment, which was not readily available to the public.

Several weeks after, Trump was unsuccessful in his attempt to secure a second term as President to Joe Biden. He is currently dealing with 91 criminal charges for his actions in trying to undermine his electoral loss, unlawfully keeping government information, and making payoffs to a pornographic actress who claims to have had an affair with him.

He has faced civil lawsuits for his business tactics and a rape accusation that a judge has deemed to be mostly accurate.

Despite this, Trump remains the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and surveys have shown that a potential rematch with Biden would be a close race.

According to officials, before the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased tracking in May, over 1.1 million individuals in the US had passed away from Covid-19 and nearly 105 million cases had been documented.

Source: theguardian.com