— President Trump, in a tweet, May 18, 2020
Trump sniped at “60 Minutes” for airing an extended interview with Rick Bright, a U.S. vaccine official who alleges that the president’s political appointees pressured him to make an untested drug widely available and shuffled him to a new job when he resisted.
But the president left out the crux of Bright’s allegation. In a detailed whistleblower complaint, Bright says that he was sounding the alarm about hydroxychloroquine early, that he was “directed” to sign an emergency application for the drug’s use in hospitals despite his reservations, and that he did it as a compromise with Trump appointees who were pushing to release the drug even more widely.
The Facts
The Food and Drug Administration warns against using hydroxychloroquine to treat covid-19 patients outside of hospitals or clinical trials, citing a risk of heart problems. Clinical trial results, academic research and scientific analysis indicate that the danger is a significantly increased risk of death for certain patients. Evidence showing the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in treating covid-19 has been scant.