France is banning the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the novel coronavirus. Hydroxychloroquine has been relentlessly praised by President Trump as an effective treatment for COVID-19 and he even admitted last week that he had been taking it alongside a cocktail of other drugs in an attempt to prevent him from catching the disease. However, a massive study on the drug published last week cast doubt on the benefit of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 patients and even found an increased risk of heart problems and death. The French health ministry decreed Wednesday morning: “Whether [in doctors offices] in the cities or in the hospital, this ... should not be prescribed for patients with COVID-19.” Trump said last weekend that he had “just finished” taking a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine despite evidence that it may cause more harm than good.
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