Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert says he’ll take hydroxychloroquine as coronavirus treatment
Texas congressman Louie Gohmert said Wednesday he’s taking hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 after he tested positive for the virus.
“My doctor and I are all in,” Gohmert told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “And I got a text just before I came on from a dear friend, [a] doctor, who just found out he had it, and he said he started a HCQ [hydroxychloroquine] regimen, too.
“So zinc, erythromycin and hydroxychloroquine,” he said, “and that will start just in the next day or two.”
The Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against using hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 and withdrew its emergency use authorization for the drug after several studies showed it’s not effective against the coronavirus and might cause more harm than good.
President Trump praised the anti-malarial drug early on in the pandemic as a “game changer” and said he took a two-week course of the drug.
Gohmert, who hasn’t worn a mask around the Capitol, tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, congressional aides confirmed, McClatchy News previously reported. He was reportedly scheduled to travel to Texas with Trump that same day.
Gohmert told CNN in June he wouldn’t wear a face mask unless he caught the virus.
“I keep being tested and I don’t have it,” Gohmert told the network in June. “So I’m not afraid of you, but if I get it I’ll wear a mask.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said Wednesday that all “valid” scientific data shows the drug’s an ineffective treatment for the virus.
“You look at the scientific data and the evidence. And the scientific data ... on trials that are valid, that were randomized and controlled in the proper way, all of those trials show consistently that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease or COVID-19,” Fauci said, according to CNBC.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 6:41 AM with the headline "Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert says he’ll take hydroxychloroquine as coronavirus treatment."