During a heated exchange with Trump Campaign Communications Director Tim Murtaugh, CNN anchor Brianna Keiler claimed that hydroxychloroquine, a decades-long anti-malaria drug, “kills people.” The comments were cut in the online version of the interview, but were streamed live.
His claim comes after a major study, reported by CNN, of the Henry Ford Health System. It shows that hydroxychloroquine is an effective drug against Wuhan coronavirus, especially if it is administered to patients early.
“A surprising new study found that the controversial antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine helped patients survive better in hospital,” reports CNN. “A team at the Henry Ford Health System in southeast Michigan said Thursday that their study of 2,541 hospitalized patients found that those who received hydroxychloroquine were much less likely to die. Dr. Marcus Zervos, chief infectious disease division for the Henry Ford Health System said that 26% of those who did not receive hydroxychloroquine died, compared to 13% of those who received the drug. ” The team reviewed all those treated in the hospital system since March. “
There is nothing “surprising” about the study results or “controversial” about the drug.
Last night, during an interview on Fox News, the Yale professor of epidemiology and Dr. Harvey Risch criticized Keiler for the comments, calling them ridiculous.
“This is a drug that has been used for over 65 years in billions of doses worldwide that people take without even thinking about it. And has it suddenly become dangerous? That’s ridiculous,” he said.
Several surveys have found that doctors would prescribe the drug to a family member or patient with the disease.
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