Donald Trump feeling 'absolutely great' after taking hydroxychloroquine: White House official

Despite the World Health Organization dropping hydroxychloroquine from its study into experimental coronavirus treatments, a White House official said that the US president is feeling "absolutely great" after taking a two-week dose of the drug.

The official also added that Trump said he would take the anti-malarial drug again if he is exposed to the deadly virus again. 

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Hydroxychloroquine, which was earlier described as a "game-changer" by Trump to treat COVID-19 is still not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 

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"I went to him just before coming out here and I asked him that. And he said, 'he's feeling perfect', he is 'feeling absolutely great' after taking this regimen. And, he would take it again if he thought that he was exposed," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnaney said on Thursday when asked how Trump felt after taking the anti-malarial drug. 

She also said that several experts have highlighted the prophylaxis use of hydroxychloroquine. 

One such paper by Tina Hesman Saey author at ScienceNews.Org talks about nearly 200 clinical trials around the world, including 28 involving healthcare workers, she said.

"In fact, at Henry Ford Hospital in Michigan, 3,000 healthcare workers are taking it as part of a trial. And there's some really excellent information there about the use of prophylaxis for this," McEnaney said.

On Monday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the health agency's executive group decided to temporarily pause the use of hydroxychloroquine within the solidarity trial to review its safety. 

The director-general said the decision is taken after a paper published in Lancet showing people using this drug are a higher risk of death and heart-related problems. 

(With PTI inputs)