A new study has found that Hydroxychloroquine, the drug that President Donald Trump says could work as a treatment for the coronavirus, is linked to an increase in death and heart risks.
The study found that patients who took Hydroxychloroquine saw a 34% increase in the risk of mortality and a 137% increase in the risk of serious heart arrhythmia.
"Previous small-scale studies have failed to identify robust evidence of a benefit and larger, randomized controlled trials are not yet completed," the study's co-author, Dr. Frank Ruschitzka, said in a statement. "However, we now know from our study that the chance that these medications improve outcomes in COVID-19 is quite low."
Last week, Trump said he began taking the drug daily along with zinc. He also took an initial dose of azithromycin.
Trump says he has finished taking the drug.
"Finished, just finished," Trump told Sharyl Attkisson for her show Full Measure, Sunday. "And by the way, I'm still here. To the best of my knowledge, here I am.
"I believe in it enough that I took a program because I had two people in the White House that tested positive. But hydroxy has had tremendous, if you look at it, tremendous, rave reviews."
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