Trump’s Advocates Malaria Drug for Coronavirus
Evan Vucci/AP
We ran the numbers: There are 1892 news articles covering this topic. 29% (554) are left leaning, 53% (996) center, 18% (342) right leaning.
Trump has encouraged coronavirus patients to try hydroxychloroquine, a drug often used to treat malaria, to combat coronavirus. While left-leaning articles highlight that the drug is yet to be proved a safe remedy, right-leaning articles highlight that a Democratic state representative from Detroit has recovered from coronavirus through taking hydroxychloroquine.
The New York Times published a left-leaning article highlighting that while experts warned against overselling a drug yet to be proved a safe remedy, Trump continued to publicly promote hydroxychloroquine. If hydroxychloroquine does become an accepted treatment for coronavirus, several pharmaceutical companies stand to profit, including shareholders with connections to Trump.
A centrist article by USA Today reports that when Anthony Fauci was asked about his thoughts on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine at a White House briefing, Trump interrupted with “He’s answered that question 15 times.” The FDA’s website currently states that people should not take chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat coronavirus, but the White House coronavirus task force has agreed to surge the supply of hydroxychloroquine to hot zones.
Fox News published a right-leaning article highlighting that State Representative Karen Whitsett of Michigan claims to have recovered from coronavirus, stating that it was the combination of hydroxychloroquine and President Trump that saved her life. Whitsett took the drug in combination with antibiotics on March 31 and said she started receiving relief in “less than two hours.”
From the left
Trump’s Aggressive Advocacy of Malaria Drug for Treating Coronavirus Divides Medical Community
New York Times