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# Trump’s Covid-19 Drug Shows No Benefit: Study
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/trumps-covid-19-drug-shows-no-benefit-study/
- Published: 2020-04-21T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T16:12:02.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5146616

A new study shows that the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which has been touted by president Trump and his allies for treating coronavirus patients, did not reduce the risk of mechanical ventilation in patients hospitalized with the infection. The study was conducted in all U.S. Veterans Health Administration medical centers until 4/11\. The two primary outcomes were death and the need for mechanical ventilation.

According to the study, an increase in overall mortality was also identified in patients treated with hydroxychloroquine alone. “These findings highlight the importance of awaiting the results of ongoing prospective, randomized, controlled studies before widespread adoption of these drugs,” the study says. Rates of death in the hydroxychloroquine, hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin, and no hydroxychloroquine groups were 27.8%, 22.1%, 11.4%, respectively.

The [study](https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20065920v1.full.pdf?ref=fdaweb.com) was posted on an online site for researchers and has not been peer reviewed yet. It was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Virginia.