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Your CliffsNotes Look at The COVID-19 Treatments President Trump Has Promoted
Medical staff in France show tablets containing chloroquine and Plaqueril, tablets containing hydroxychloroquine. (Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty Images
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Here's a very quick look what we know and don't know about the drugs, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, also known by the brand name Plaquenil.
These are the possible treatments for COVID-19 that President Donald Trump has been promoting.
WHAT WE KNOW
- The drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but not for the treatment of the coronavirus.
- A number of hospitals are using the drug to treat patients with the coronavirus.
- Patients who rely on hydroxychloroquine for other conditions can't get it.
- Some doctors and their families are hoarding the drug.
- There are efforts to increase the supply of the drug, but other moves could tighten it.
- Conservative groups and television hosts are talking up the benefits of the drug.
- Clinical trials are underway.
- Some people are self-medicating with harmful results.
WHAT WE DON'T KNOW
- Whether the drugs are effective at treating the coronavirus.
GET THE DETAILS:
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