Amid growing evidence that hydroxychloroquine caused “significantly increased risk of death for certain patients” and “scant evidence” of its effectiveness, as The Washington Post reported, experts are pushing harder for the government to discourage its use in treating coronavirus. Donald Trump still seems to think he knows better.

From The Washington Post:

Alarmed by a growing cache of data linking the anti-malaria drug to serious cardiac problems, some drug safety experts are now calling for even more forceful action by the government to discourage its use. Several have called for the FDA to revoke its emergency use authorization, given hydroxychloroquine’s documented risks.

They should say, ‘We know there are harms, and until we know the benefits, let’s hold off,’ ” said Joseph Ross, a professor of medicine and public health at Yale University, who added that the original authorization may have been warranted but new evidence has emerged about the drug’s risks.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t been revoked yet,” said Luciana Borio, who served as director for medical and biodefense preparedness of the National Security Council and was acting chief scientist at the FDA.

But don’t hold your breath. #PresidentDeath thinks he knows better than the experts:

“So we have had some great response, in terms of doctors writing letters and people calling on the hydroxychloroquine,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “And [whistleblower Rick Bright, former director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority] is fighting it. There’s no reason to fight it. There’s no reason. But more importantly than that, we’ve had tremendous response to the hydroxy.”

But doctors, health experts and officials from Trump’s own administration say the evidence does not back up the president’s positive assertions. Those assertions, which Trump has claimed are partly based on “a feeling,” could be costing lives, they said.

At least part of Trump’s “feeling” about hydroxychloroquine comes from Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. A chorus of Fox personalities have also pushed hydroxychloroquine. Ingraham already thinks she knows better than the FDA. She was miffed when it issued a warning against using the drug outside a hospital or clinical trial.

So Trump probably won't get "a feeling" hydroxychloroquine is dangerous until Fox News tells him so.

(Trump caricature by DonkeyHotey, via Creative Commons License)