You know, it's one thing for Trump to publicly tout a treatment for the coronavirus that hasn't been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and one that probably won't work, but it's even worse to promote a treatment that may be more likely to kill you.
For weeks, Trump has publicly promoted the use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat virus patients, but analysis of treatment at VA facilities shows that patients who received hydroxychloroquine were far more likely to die.
(Reuters) - An old malaria drug touted by U.S. President Donald Trump as a “game changer” in the fight against the coronavirus provided no benefit and potentially higher risk of death for patients at U.S. veterans hospitals, according to an analysis that has been submitted for expert review. [...]
An analysis of Veterans Health Administration (VA) data found that 28% of 97 patients given hydroxychloroquine along with standard care died, compared with a death rate of 11% for the 158 patients that did not receive the drug. The death rate was 22% for the 113 patients given hydroxychloroquine plus the antibiotic azithromycin.
The research, which has not yet been accepted for publication in a medical journal, is not the result of a clinical trial. It analyzed medical records from 368 men hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at VA centers who died or were discharged by April 11, according to the paper posted online for researchers.
After taking patients’ individual characteristics into account, researchers calculated that the risk of death was more than double in those who received hydroxychloroquine.
That's right, Trump's "game-changer" increases lethality and boasts a death rate of nearly 30-fucking-percent.
Reuters helpfully points out that this is "not the result of a clinical trial," but any treatment that increases the chance of death by even a single percentage point probably won't be approved for widespread use. Trump's miracle drug gives you a nearly 1 in 3 chance of dying.
In a more just world, Trump would be sued into oblivion by the families of people who were actually killed by Trump's drug and not the virus itself. But he's the "president" so no one can do that right now.
Everyone needs to vote to ensure that we'll get to spend the next 10 years watching lawsuits filed against him.