France Bans Trump-Promoted Drug Hydroxychloroquine After Fatal Side Effects Are Found

After a study on hydroxychloroquine’s fatal risks was published, France officially banned the anti-malarial drug.

Last Wednesday, the country’s Ministry of Public Health issued a statement in which it prohibited medical researchers from using hydroxychloroquine outside clinical trials.

“Whether [in doctors offices] in the cities or in the hospital, this … should not be prescribed for patients with COVID-19,” they said.

According to doctors, the drug can be fatal for some and it should not act as prophylaxis for the novel coronavirus. In the study published by The Lancet, both hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, two anti-malarial medicaments, showed a correlation with an increased chance of heart problems or even death.

The World Health Organization, as well, recently halted the drug’s use in its global Solidarity Trial for safety concerns.

Health Minister Olivier Véran voiced his concerns after the WHO statement and initiated the investigation. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has been touting the drug for weeks, saying that it has kept him healthy.

While the USA Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned citizens about the hazards linked to hydroxychloroquine, Trump’s White House physician seems to be the only medical expert to claim that the drug’s benefits far outweigh its side effects.

Medical trials have so far show that it is ineffective in combating COVID-19.