TX Gov Abbot Says 30 Patients At A Senior Living Facility Are Being Treated with Hydroxycholorquine [View all]

[kpete]

A group of nursing home residents in Texas City who have tested positive for the new coronavirus are being treated with the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday.

The announcement of the drug's use for the elderly patients comes as medical professionals and elected officials across the country debate whether the unproven drug is safe for patients diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. President Donald Trump has enthusiastically touted the drug, and the federal government has approved it on an emergency basis in some COVID-19 cases, though medical experts have been far less willing to embrace its widespread use.

Abbott said the patients getting the drug are from The Resort at Texas City, a senior living facility where over 80 residents and workers have tested positive for the new coronavirus. "About 30" patients who are infected are being treated with hydroxycholorquine to "determine whether or not it will be a successful treatment for those patients," Abbott said.

"They are, for the most part, in their second day of this testing regimen that will last several more days," Abbott said during a news conference in Austin about the state's response to the pandemic. "We look forward to updating you as the week progresses about how this drug is aiding or not these patients."


https://www.texastribune.org/2020/04/06/texas-city-coronavirus-patients-get-unproven-hydroxychloroquine-drug/