Trump says antimalarial will soon be available to treat coronavirus

President Donald Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence, takes questions from reporters during a Coronavirus Task Force update Feb. 29 — Myles Cullen / White Hous

By CNN

March 19, 2020 9:54 AM

Published March 19, 2020 8:02 AM

WASHINGTON (CNN) https://livestream.com/accounts/25723746/events/8522569/videos/203164018 President Trump says he’s pushed the Food and Drug Administration to eliminate barriers to getting therapeutics for coronavirus to patients.

He said a drug currently used as an antimalarial — hydroxychloroquine — would be made available almost immediately to treat coronavirus.

"It’s been around for a long time, so we know if things don’t go as planned, it’s not going to kill anybody,” Trump told reporters at the White House today.

Trump said it was a common drug and would soon be available for “prescribed use” on coronavirus. He called it a “game-changer."

"We have to remove every barrier or a lot of barriers that were unnecessary and they’ve done that to get the rapid deployment of safe, effective treatments and we think we have some good answers,” Trump said.

Article Topic Follows: Coronavirus

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