Trump says he's taking hydroxychloroquine

(Image credit: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

published 18 May 2020

President Trump is apparently no longer simply touting the controversial malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as an effective coronavirus treatment — he says he's actually taking it as a preventative measure.

Trump told reporters Monday that he's been taking the medication, which hasn't been proven to effectively treat COVID-19 and has been warned to come with potentially serious side effects, for about a week and a half, with the permission of a White House physician.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.