Bako, John Chukwudi
A Phoenix-area man is dead, and his wife is under critical care after the two took chloroquine phosphate in an apparent attempt to self-medicate for the novel coronavirus, according to hospital system Banner Health.
Chloroquine has been publicized by President Donald Trump as a possible medication for Covid-19, but it’s also “an additive commonly used at aquariums to clean fish tanks,” Banner Health said in a statement.
Chloroquine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. There is clinical trial currently going around the world which will possibly leads to the approval of the drug for the treatment of coronavirus.
Banner Health experts emphasized that the medication — as well as other “inappropriate medications and household products” — “should not be ingested to treat or prevent this virus.”
Banner Health, which is based in Arizona, didn’t give any details on how the couple, both in their 60s, acquired the chloroquine or which Banner hospital treated them.
However, according to the statement, “within thirty minutes of ingestion, the couple experienced immediate effects requiring admittance to a nearby Banner Health hospital.”
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine. The FDA has moved mountains – Thank You! Hopefully they will BOTH (H works better with A, International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents)…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2020
Arizona Man Dies After Self-Treating Coronavirus with Chloroquine Phosphate, Says Hospital #PeopleNow pic.twitter.com/drKtOwuAY3
— PeopleTV (@peopletv) March 24, 2020