(Image source from: ndtv.com)

According to a top house official, with a two-week dose ofantimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, US President, Donald Trump is feeling "absolutely great”. He will continue taking a two-week dose if he is doubtful about being exposed to the virus.

What is Hydroxychloroquine?

It is a vaccine. Since 1946, Hydroxychloroquinesulfate has been used to treat and prevent malaria. In times now, this vaccine is being approved by US Food and Drug Administration to treat malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, childhood arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases.

Although the FDA hasn’t proved that it can be used for treating Coronavirus, yet it is being identified as a possible treatment for the infection. It is requested to be immediately available by the US Government.

In this fight of coronavirus, Trump has called hydroxychloroquine a "game-changer" drug.

On Thursday, Kayleigh McEnaney, Press Secretary of the White House asked the US President about how he felt after taking the antimalarial drug and he said, "I went to him just before coming out here and I asked him that. And he said, ''he’s feeling perfect'', he is ''feeling absolutely great'' after taking this regimen. And, he would take it again if he thought that he was exposed”

Across the world, many experts didn’t find this vaccine suitable. However, one paper written by Tina HesmanSaey, an author at Sciencenews.org mentions about nearly 200 clinical trials around the world and 28 were healthcare workers, she said.

This vaccine is being taken by 3000 healthcare workers at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan. The Press Secretary says, there’s some really excellent information there about the use of prophylaxis for this.

On a question being asked to McEnany, he said that a number of doctors and researchers are supporting hydroxychloroquine. He said that it is not specific to the President, they just talk about what they’ve seen in general.

At the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis, an infectious disease doctor, Sarah Lofgren said, they are testing hydroxychloroquine there to prevent COVID-19.

She adds saying ''When used alone, we’re not seeing major issues. Out of the thousands of patients, we’re not seeing things that some people are concerned about''. She says that doctors need to be prescribing this.

On hearing this, McEnanymentioned that it was always important to get a prescription from doctor if one wished to take hydroxychloroquine.

Further, he said, “I think that some of the hyperbole around this drug that has been on the market for 65 years - been approved for use in three other maladies and has been approved for off-label use - when there’s a lot of hyperbole about this being unsafe - some of the things I've seen reported out there - are consequences, deterring people from being recruited into actual clinical trials,"

To this, she said "I have some quotes from a New York epidemiologist and others conducting trials, saying they’re having trouble recruiting people because some of the myths that are out there. So, it's important to note that this drug has been safely used by millions of people for a long time,"

Early this month, after Trump announced that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventive measure against coronavirus, a number of Indian-American doctors have written to the Trump Campaign about the usefulness of this antimalaria drug in the fight against COVID-19. Some of them said that they were using this drug and it is safe for decades now.

American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) president Dr Suresh Reddy said in a recent letter to Al Mason, co-chair of the Trump Victory Indian American Finance Committee that this drug had been used by him and his friends.

Mason said Trump started to take remarkable steps to respond to the coronavirus crisis.

Although Trump repeatedly touted that hydroxychloroquine is a "game changer" cure for the virus, yet the FDA issued an advisory warning that the drug has not been "shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19."

As of now, million doses of hydroxychloroquine have been purchased by the Trump Administration and kept in a bulk. On the grounds of humanity, India being the major manufacturers of this drug has sent several millions of doses to the US.

By Neha Makhija