NORFOLK, Va. — Whether hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment still hasn’t been proven.
In fact, Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) professor and infectious disease expert Dr. Edward Oldfield said he wouldn’t even take it.
“We do not have a definitive study that shows that it works or doesn’t work," Dr. Oldfield said. “I would not take hydroxychloroquine. I think there are definite side effects. I haven’t found really any article that I’ve seen that’s convincing.”
Oldfield said past studies on the drug have shown it to have severe, sometimes fatal, side effects.
“Most of the physicians I know have been very disappointed with the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine and stopped using it. The major hospitals in New York City has recommended their physicians stop using it," he said. "When the people on the front lines treating these patients are not using it, I wouldn’t use it.”
Virginia Beach flight attendant April Rodrigues took hydroxychloroquine when she contracted COVID-19. Although she believes the drug helped, she called it dangerous.
“The drug saved my life, but I also have a lot of negative effects from it,” Rodrigues said. “Hydroxychloroquine was working but it was giving me such bad cardiac effects... and it ended up bruising the muscle around my heart.”
Dr. Oldfield said it’s also not clear whether taking hydroxychloroquine can prevent COVID-19 because there are people who take it and get coronavirus anyway.
“There have been a number of patients on hydroxychloroquine for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus who have developed COVID-19," he said.
Dr. Oldfield said President Trump announcing he takes hydroxychloroquine sets a bad example because there are two big problems when it comes to hydroxychloroquine.
"One, we don’t know if it works. Two, is the side effects,” Dr. Oldfield said. "He (Trump) can make his own decisions, obviously. I don’t think his physician recommended it. I don’t know of many physicians that are recommending it. I’m certainly not recommending hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis."
Oldfield said experts are researching whether taking hydroxychloroquine can treat or prevent COVID-19 and we could have answers within a week.