Rep. Louie Gohmert said Wednesday he will be taking hydroxychloroquine to battle COVID-19 after being diagnosed with the virus.
The Texas Republican, 66, said he and his doctor have agreed that he should begin taking the anti-malarial drug, which some doctors believe can reduce the effects of the coronavirus.
“My doctor and I are all in,” Gohmert said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity. “I got a text before I came on from a friend doctor who just found out he had it, and he started the regimen, too — zinc and hydroxychloroquine. And that will start in a day or two, so thank you.”
Gohmert said while he was diagnosed with the virus, he is asymptomatic.
While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says there is no proof the hydroxychloroquine is effective, an international poll of doctors found that many thought the drug useful. And even the FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn says there are some medical observational studies that “suggest a benefit” in using the drug hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19, but he notes that clinical, randomized trials show no benefit.
“So the FDA looks at all what we call ‘the totality of data,'” Hahn said in a Tuesday interview with Florida radio host Drew Steele. “There are observational studies that suggest a benefit. There are five randomized trials that did not show a benefit to hydroxychloroquine, both in the prophylactic setting and in the treatment — both early and late.”
But Hahn said doctors can decide what’s best for their patients.
“We believe that decision about whether a doctor writes for hydroxychloroquine, for a patient with COVID, is completely in the realm of the doctor-patient relationship,” Hahn said Tuesday, “with the doctor understanding what the data show, their comfort level with this drug, and also the other medications and other illnesses that a person has.”
President Trump has long touted the drug and did so again on Wednesday.
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“I was very impressed with her and other doctors who stood with her,” Trump told reporters, referring to the controversial doctor Stella Immanuel. “I think she made sense, but I know nothing about it.”
