President Donald Trump was widely mocked earlier this year after it was announced that he was taking the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine to help ward off COVID-19.
However, the results of a new study appear to suggest that despite criticism from many in the media, Trump’s move was actually a smart one.
The Washington Examiner reported on Friday that the study is soon to be published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.
It found that low-doses of hydroxychloroquine combined with zinc and azithromycin were “an effective therapeutic approach against COVID-19.”
Less hospitalization, fewer deaths
The study involved 141 patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and were being treated with the drug mixture over a five-day period, along with 377 individuals who were also infected but did not receive the drug cocktail.
According to the Examiner, researchers concluded that “the odds of hospitalization of treated patients was 84% less than in the untreated patients.” Only one patient from the treated group died, while 13 people who were not being treated with the drug mixture passed away.
Another study conducted in July by the Henry Ford Health System also indicated that hydroxychloroquine has efficacy in treating the coronavirus, as the Examiner reported at the time.
Suppression in the media
But despite evidence suggesting that the drug could be useful when it comes to saving lives, information about it has been suppressed in the months since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the U.S.
July saw Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook famously censor a video in which multiple doctors were seen discussing the potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine for patients with COVID-19.
Twitter even went so far as to partially suspend the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., when he shared the video in a tweet, with the social media giant accusing him of “spreading misleading and potentially harmful misinformation,” the Washington Examiner reported.
In a statement quoted in a separate report from the Examiner, Trump Jr.’s spokesman, Andrew Surabian, decried the move as an example of Big Tech firms limiting what can be said in the public discourse.
“Twitter suspending Don Jr. for sharing a viral video of medical professionals discussing their views on Hydroxychloroquine is further proof that Big Tech is intent on killing free expression online and is another instance of them committing election interference to stifle Republican voices,” Surabian said.
The post New study suggests hydroxychloroquine may be effective treatment for COVID-19 first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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