Anti-Malaria, Hydroxychloroquine, Possible Gamechanger in the War on Coronavirus

On Thursday morning, President Trump announced anti-malaria drug, Hydroxychloroquine, may help in combating Covid19, during the coronavirus task force briefing. Trump brought up ‘Right to Try’ while talking about the anti-malaria drug stating this “goes beyond ‘Right to Try’… this could be a game-changer.” Trump also said the drug would be made available almost immediately.

According to Axios, Bayer is preparing to donate a large supply of an anti-malaria drug that has shown some promise in treating Covid19. This news comes while a vaccine and other treatments are still in the pipeline to help combat this war on the Chinese virus.

On March 17th a French study showed that treating patients with Covid19 with an anti-malaria drug, Hydroxychloroquine, in combination with an antibiotic, azithromycin, worked better together.

The New York Times reports; “A number of hospitals were giving coronavirus patients hydroxychloroquine, an old, inexpensive and relatively safe malaria drug that lab studies indicated might keep the coronavirus from invading human cells. Reports of its use in patients in China and in France have suggested that it may help, but there is not enough data to be sure.“