Trump takes malaria medication as a corona prophylaxis

Back in March and April, Donald Trump had repeatedly promoted hydroxychloroquine as a therapy for patients. However, experts warn of the alleged miracle cure.

Washington (dpa) - US President Donald Trump says he takes a malaria drug as a coronavirus prophylaxis. He's been taking hydroxychloroquine for about a week and a half, Trump said in the White House.

He had heard "very good things" about the long-approved malaria drug, Trump said. When asked about scientific evidence to benefit from such prophylaxis, Trump claimed that he had received many calls and many doctors and nurses were taking it as a precaution. He had coordinated the drug with the White House doctor.

Trump had repeatedly promoted hydroxychloroquine in March and April as a therapy for patients suffering from the lung disease Covid-19 caused by the novel coronavirus. The drug was a "gift from God", he enthused at the time. At the end of April, however, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned of the alleged miracle cure: There is no reliable evidence of effectiveness against Covid-19, but the drug increases the risk of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, it said. Previously, a study had found higher mortality in patients when taking the drug in combination with an antibiotic.

Trump said he also takes zinc to boost the immune system. The 73-year-old emphasized that he had recently had negative corona virus tests. At first, it remained unclear whether Trump was taking hydroxychloroquine as a prophylaxis against infection with the novel virus or in the hope that the symptoms of Covid would be milder.

Hydroxychloroquine is also approved in the United States for the treatment of autoimmune lupus and arthritis. Several studies are ongoing to investigate the potential benefit of the drug in relation to Covid-19. The U.S. National Health Institute had only announced on Thursday that there is now a clinical trial involving around 2,000 subjects to determine whether taking hydroxychloroquine with the antibiotic azithromycin can reduce hospitalization and deaths in the early stages of the disease.

In addition, US President Donald Trump has again spoken harshly against the World Health Organization (WHO). "You are a puppet of China. You are China-centered, to put it nicer," said Trump. The organization has been doing a "very sad job" recently.

Trump said that he did not want to make a statement to the WHO Annual Assembly, which took place on Monday, when asked a reporter. Instead, he would comment "sometime in the near future".

Trump had announced in mid-April that US contributions to the World Health Organization would be put on hold, causing international criticism. He accuses the WHO of serious omissions in the coronavirus crisis and has made the organization responsible for the many deaths. At the weekend, Trump indicated that payments could be resumed, but in a drastically reduced form.

China also tackled Trump again on Monday. The country should be held accountable for the spread of the corona virus, he claims. China has seriously harmed the world. "China gave us a wonderful gift," Trump said cynically. "The whole world has been infected."