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Trump Won’t Wear a Face Mask But Says He’d Try Unproven Coronavirus Drug

The president said on Saturday he’d try hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that has not been approved for widespread use.

President Trump again touted a potential coronavirus drug on Saturday, saying he would try it—despite not having coronavirus, and despite the drug not being approved for widespread use. The FDA has approved the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria and lupus drug, to treat COVID-19 symptoms. It’s still undergoing clinical trials to determine if widespread use is safe and effective, but that hasn’t stopped Trump from repeatedly calling it a “game changer.” Trump has tested negative twice for coronavirus but on Saturday he said: “I may take it. I have to ask my doctors about that.” He said 29 million doses of the drug were now available for doctors to use on COVID-19 patients, and it had great potential. “I hope they use hydroxychloroquine,” he said. “What do you have to lose?” He also mentioned unspecified reports that people taking the drug weren’t getting coronavirus. “Maybe that’s correct, maybe that’s false, you’ll have to check it out.”

Trump’s comments came a day after he said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends Americans wear face masks in public—but he probably wouldn’t wear one. “I don’t see it for myself. I just don’t. Maybe I'll change my mind,” he said. A French study found that hydroxychloroquine does not appear to help the immune system clear the coronavirus from the body but two other studies, one in France and one in China, have found some benefits of combining hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms.

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Rachel OldingSenior Breaking News Editor

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