President Donald Trump’s supporters are posting messages saying they are taking hydroxychloroquine, with one right-wing activist claiming “it feels great” and “I have increased energy & higher mental clarity”. Some are even trying to cook the unproven drug themselves, The Daily Beast reports.
According to The Beast, supporters fo the president are trying risky substitutes for the anti-malaria drug. “QAnon users are posting make-at-home recipes for hydroxychloroquine as Trump says he’s using the drug,” The Beast writes.
Trump has repeatedly touted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19, urging people to take it because “what have you got to lose?” But that enthusiasm took on an entirely new meaning this week, when he claimed he’d been taking medication for “a couple of weeks.”
The revelation was starling. The FDA has warned that taking hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, can produce “abnormal heart rhythms,” particularly for people with heart or kidney disease. And a Veterans Affairs study of hydroxychloroquine found that the drug has no effect on COVID-19 and may actually increase mortality rates for patients.
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But that hasn’t stopped Trump fans:
“On Tuesday, talk radio host and former Trump White House adviser Sebastian Gorka went further than Trump, announcing that he had been taking the drug in an attempt to avoid contracting COVID-19 for a month and posting a picture of his prescription bottle.
“Is it the miracle solution?” Gorka wondered in a video, before having his doctor on his radio show to discuss dosages.
Gorka isn’t alone. Rep. Roger Marshall (R-KS), a doctor and Kansas Senate candidate, said Tuesday that he and several family members are taking hydroxychloroquine in an attempt to ward off the virus.
“I’m relieved President Trump is taking it,” Marshall said.
Fringe right-wing activist Michael Coudrey, who Trump has retweeted in the past, claimed on Twitter on Tuesday that he’s been taking the drug prophylactically for a month—and even claimed it’s helped his skin.
“My face is also very plush and vibrant,” Coudrey tweeted.
I have been taking #hydroxychloriquine for the past month, no side effects, actually feel great & I feel like I have increased energy & higher mental clarity.
My face is also very plush & vibrant, likely bc the drug increases extracellular H202 production & helps immune system pic.twitter.com/tD9EHSzdJ3
— Mike Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) May 19, 2020
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