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Updated: Apr 08, 2020 07:40 IST

A Democratic party’s state legislature from Michigan has credited hydroxychloroquine for saving her life from coronavirus, US President Donald Trump said Tuesday, adding the politician has thanked him for promoting the malaria drug.

Amidst an intense debate on side effects of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment of Covid-19, Trump has been actively promoting the drug as an option when there is no viable treatment for the dreaded virus which has so far taken more than 12,800 Americans’ lives, including a record over 2,000 in just one single day on Tuesday.

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Michigan State Representative Karen Whitsett has said she and her husband could save their lives from coronavirus only after they started taking hydroxychloroquine.

She asked her doctor to prescribe this after she saw President Trump touting for this drug on a news channel.

“This is a woman I thought she was going to die. I mean, she is a Democrat representative, highly respected woman, African-American woman. ...the way she told the story was beautiful. I asked my husband to go and get it. He got it. She is now okay. I mean, she was interviewed last night on television, and she thanked me,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Also read: India partially eases restrictions on export of anti-malarial drug

“She thanked me even in a tweet. She said I want to thank President Trump. He saved my life. Look, I don’t say that happens with everybody, but that’s a beautiful story. There are many of those stories. And I say try it (hydroxychloroquine),” he said in response to a question.

The US Food and Drug Administration has given temporary approval of the malaria drug in the treatment of Covid-19 patients. It is being experimented on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York.

Anticipating it will work, the Trump Administration has procured more than 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine. It has also placed a major order from three Indian companies. After an initial hold on its export, the Indian government has now allowed its export to the US.

Responding to questions, Trump said he has been hearing great results about it.

But the drug has to be prescribed by a doctor, he added.

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“Doctors have to recommend it. I’m not a doctor. I’m just saying we hear great results. And some people say let’s go to a laboratory, let’s test it for a couple of years. No. We got people dying in this country and all over the world right now, not in a couple of years. They’re dying. As we speak there are people dying,” Trump asserted.

In an interview to Detroit Free Press Journal, Rep Whitsett said she was tested for the coronavirus and learned Monday her results were positive. She said that “less than two hours” after taking hydroxychloroquine, she began to feel relief, the daily reported.

When asked by the Free Press if she thinks Trump may have saved her life, Whitsett said, “Yes, I do” and “I do thank him for that.” “I appreciate that woman. She was great. You have to see it to believe it, the way she spoke. It was like a miracle. And this was not a fan of mine, but she’s a fan of mine now and I’m very honoured by it,” Trump told reporters.

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