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The normally pro-Trump Daily Telegraph reported on  22 April:“An American panel of experts have warned against the use of drugs touted by President Donald Trump as “game changers” due to safety concerns. The group, convened by the influential National Institutes of Health (NIH), recommended against using a combination of the malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin to treat Covid-19 patients “because of the potential for toxicities”.There are concerns that the drugs can trigger an irregular heart rhythm and lead to heart failure. But Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed that the pair are the most promising coronavirus treatments, despite warnings from the head of the NIH, Dr Anthony Fauci, that there is no conclusive scientific evidence to support the assertion.“Taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine,” Mr Trump recently wrote on Twitter. In the set of new coronavirus guidelines published by the US federal agency, the NIH added that there remains "insufficient clinical data to recommend either for or against” using hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine alone.”The full article is much longer and is here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/experts-warn-trump-backed-chloroquine-treatment-covid-19-poses/I think the reporting of Trump’s remarks has been quite consistent across the political spectrum. Nearly all the commentary has been negative and the Piers Corbyn support equally rightly condemned.  Quack cures and mad conspiracy theories serve only the deranged promoters’ urge for attention at any cost. Sadly some people have followed Trump’s “advice” which is alarming in itself.

Jonathan Callaway ● 2380d