Hydroxychloroquine saved my life from COVID-19: US lawmaker

By Seema Hakhu Kachru

Houston, Apr 7 ( PTI) Karen Whitsett, a Democratic lawmaker from Detroit who got infected of coronavirus last month, has credited Hydroxychloroquine tablets and the US President Donald Trump for saving her life in the battle against the deadly COVID-19 infection.

Whitsett, who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 30, said she started taking Hydroxychloroquine tablets from the very next day as it was prescribed by her doctor after both she and her husband sought treatment for a range of symptoms on March 18.

"It was less than two hours before I started to feel relief," said Whitsett, who had experienced shortness of breath, swollen lymph nodes, and what felt like a sinus infection.

However, she is still experiencing headaches, Whitsett said.

Hydroxychloroquine tablet is used to prevent and treat malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, among other ailments.

Whitsett said she was familiar with "the wonders" of Hydroxychloroquine from an earlier bout with Lyme disease, but did not believe she would have thought to ask for it or her doctor would have prescribed it, had Trump not been touting it as a possible treatment for the deadly COVID-19.

Trump, at his daily coronavirus briefings for the last couple of days, has repeatedly touted the drug in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin as a solution to coronavirus, despite criticism from health professionals that it is unproven and potentially dangerous.

President Trump on Saturday said that he has sought help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow the sale of Hydroxychloroquine tablets ordered by the US to treat the growing number of coronavirus patients in his country, hours after India banned the export of the anti-malarial drug.

There have also been complaints that Trump's remarks have resulted in a shortage of the drug for those people who normally use it for its recommended purposes.

But Whitsett said Trump's comments helped in her case.

"It has a lot to do with the president ... bringing it up," Whitsett said.

"He is the only person who has the power to make it a priority," she said.

Asked if she thinks Trump may have saved her life, Whitsett said: "Yes, I do," and "I do thank him for that."

More than 10,000 people have died of coronavirus complications in the United States since the outbreak began in late January, Johns Hopkins University has said.

The Baltimore-based school, which has been keeping a running tally of global coronavirus numbers, on Monday said there are at least 347,003 confirmed infections in the US with 10,335 deaths.