Washington, May 26: US President Donald Trump recently revealed in an interview that he has "fished, just finished" a two-week course of hydroxychloroquine. Last week he revealed that he was taking the anti-malaria drug as a preventative measure against the coronavirus. According to a report on the Deadline, Trump further said during an interview on Sinclair Broadcasting, "And by the way, I’m still here…To the best of my knowledge, here I am.” Donald Trump Says He’s Taking Zinc, Hydroxychloroquine to Protect Himself Against COVID-19.

As per a Reuters report, the World Health Organization temporarily paused the clinical trials of hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine owing to safety concerns. The trials were paused post the results of a large observational study of 96,032 patients, published in the medical journal The Lancet. The study highlighted that those treated with the anti-malarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine showed no benefit of the drug, and were at a higher risk of death and irregular heart rhythms.

WHO is studying the efficacy of various therapies such as remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, ritonavir and lopinavir against COVID-19. Trump revealed that he had taken the drug after two White House staff tested positive for coronavirus.

Trump had earlier revealed that his doctor did not recommend the drug to him, but he requested it from the White House physician. "I started taking it because I think it's good," Trump said. "I've heard a lot of good stories.”

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 26, 2020 08:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).