Hydroxychloroquine was the original coronavirus miracle cure promoted by Trump and members of his cabinet; a fake cure that the World Health Organization (WHO) eventually warned against after studies showed that using it to treat coronavirus patients actually increased deaths.
But once it was abundantly clear that 'chloroquine causes more harm than good, Trump and his inner circle moved on to promoting Gilead’s remdesivir as the latest miracle cure for the virus.
Trump himself was reportedly treated with remdesivir when he was admitted to Walter Reed after contracting the coronavirus, but the World Health Organization now says it doesn't do anything.
The WHO’s Guideline Development Group (GDG) panel said its recommendation was based on an evidence review that included data from four international randomised trials involving more than 7,000 patients hospitalised with COVID-19.
After reviewing the evidence, the panel said it concluded that remdesivir, which has to be given intravenously and is therefore costly and complex to administer, has no meaningful effect on death rates or other important outcomes for patients. [...]
“The ... panel found a lack of evidence that remdesivir improved outcomes that matter to patients,” the guideline said.
This doesn't necessarily mean the drug is completely ineffective in every single scenario, just that it's not worth using given how little effect it has and how much it costs to use.
One thing I am absolutely confident in is that we're never going to see officials from the Biden Administration appear on cable news to promote untested drugs or miracle cures like they're slinging homoeopathic remedies.
If you ask me, doing that ought to be illegal. Remdesivir does not appear to be directly harmful, but people actually died after taking hydroxychloroquine because Trump and his advisers told them it would stop COVID-19.
Trump and his inner circle put lives at risk because they wanted to create false confidence that reopening the economy sooner rather than later would be safe. They killed people for political reasons.