'You're not safe taking that medication at all': Woman who has taken hydroxychloroquine for 19 years still contracts coronavirus

Patient criticises Donald Trump for giving impression it would prevent infection

A woman who has taken hydroxychloroquine for most of her life to treat lupus and still contracted coronavirus has criticised Donald Trump for stating that the medicine would help prevent the disease.

Kim, who requested to be only referred to by her first name, told WISN that she has been taking the drug for 19 years, but still came down with coronavirus symptoms in April.

“Weak all over. Coughing, fever. The fever was very high,” Kim told the broadcaster. “It just went downhill from there. I couldn't breathe no more.”

Despite being prescribed antibiotics by her doctor, her symptoms worsened and she was eventually diagnosed with Covid-19 after attending an emergency room.

“When they gave the diagnosis, I felt like it was a death sentence. I was like, 'I'm going to die,'” Kim said. “I'm like, 'How can I be sick? How? I'm on the hydroxychloroquine.’”

“They were like, 'Well, nobody ever said that was the cure or that was going to keep you safe' and it definitely did not," she added.

She told WISN that she had only been leaving the house for essentials and had been taking precautions against virus every time she left.

Kim expressed frustration that Mr Trump had led her to think that the drug would offer her a level of protection against the virus.

“You're not safe taking that medication at all. (Hydroxychloroquine) is not going to prevent anything. You can still get coronavirus,” she said.

“It kind of makes me mad that ( Mr Trump) thinks it's going to do that and is telling the whole world it's going to do that.”

Mr Trump has repeatedly said that the drug, which is often used in the treatment of malaria, could help treat or prevent the novel coronavirus.

On Monday the president announced that he has been taking the drug himself for about a week and half.

“I take it,” he told reporters. “All I can tell you is, so far, I feel okay.”

“A lot of good things have come out about the hydroxychloroquine. A lot of good things have come out and you'd be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the front-line workers,” the president said.

Kim is now recovering from the virus, but remains on oxygen at home.

There has been very little evidence that the drug is effective in treating or preventing coronavirus. Last month the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a warning could cause severe heart rhythm problems in patients.

The medication has been authorised their temporary use during the Covid-19 pandemic for treatment of the virus in hospitalised patients when clinical trials are not available.

In April, the drug showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in US veterans hospitals, which recorded more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.

Clinical trials to study whether the drug is effective in treating the virus are still undergoing.