‘Game changer’ coronavirus treatment repeatedly pushed by Donald Trump fails its first big test

'We have some very good results and some very good tests. What really do we have to lose?' Trump previously said of the drug.

A anti-malarial drug that Donald Trump previously touted as a ‘game changer’ coronavirus treatment has failed its first big test.

A new analysis of the drug hydroxychloroquine found that there were actually more deaths when it was given to patients at US veterans hospitals, as opposed to when the patients were given standard care. The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment, but it is the largest insight into the drug’s effect on Covid-19 patients after 368 were tested.

The study, which was posted online this week, was conducted by researchers who examined the medical records of all 368 patients who tested positive for Covid-19 and were either killed or discharged by April 11.

According to the findings, 28% of patients who received hydroxychloroquine plus standard care died, compared to 11% of the patients who died after getting only routine care, although it is unclear how many patients had preexisting factors that may have left them more prone to fatal symptoms. The researchers also found that hydroxychloroquine made no difference in whether a breathing tube was needed as well.

The study also looked into the antibiotic azithromycin and it’s effect on Covid-19 patients and found about 22% of patients died after getting the drug plus usual care, although the group was not considered large enough to rule out other factors, such as preexisting conditions, that could have affected the survival rate.

Researchers who worked on the latest study did not look into the drug’s side effects but noted that it may have damaged other organs. Hydroxychloroquine has been known to have potentially serious side effects, such as altering the heartbeat, which can be fatal.

President Trump had previously been pushing the hydroxychloroquine as a potential cure for coronavirus during his daily press briefings, but he has recently quieted his praise for the drug without explanation. The last time he mentioned the drug was last Tuesday when he announced his administration had sent out approximately 28 million doses from the federal government’s Strategic National Stockpile.

Earler this month, Trump told reporters that hydroxychloroquine as a ‘very strong, powerful medicine. But it doesn’t kill people.’

‘We have some very good results and some very good tests. What really do we have to lose?’

The president has not yet commented on the latest study.