President Trump said in a Thursday press briefing said that chloroquine, a drug used to treat malaria and severe arthritis, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration to test as a COVID-19 coronavirus treatment, as the number of cases nationwide continues to increase.
- The drug will be used in a clinical trial, according to FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, who spoke during the press briefing.
- Trump also said that other antiviral medications will be fast-tracked for FDA approval.
- “We will collect that data and make the absolute right decisions based upon those data about the safety and efficacy of the treatments,” said Hahn.
- Trump also claimed that the White House has “slashed red tape” to speed up approval for vaccines and other treatments.
- Trump added that the FDA approved “compassionate use” for a number of patients, which allows very ill patients to use drugs not yet approved by the agency for widespread use
