Malaria medicine 'Hydroxychloroquine' being administered to 1,100 COVID19 patients in NY: Trump

Malaria medicine 'Hydroxychloroquine' is being ministered to 1,100 coronavirus patients in New York, President Donald Trump has said, exuding confidence that drug, touted as a "game-changer" by him, might give some incredible results in fight against disease that has infected over 140,000 people in country.

An inexpensive drug widely used since 1955 to treat malaria, Hydroxychloroquine is considered to have relatively harmless side effects.

It is being tested out on COVID-19 patients in New York on an experimental basis, hoping that this will give a solution in treatment against vel coronavirus.

“Hydroxychloroquine is being ministered to 1,100 patients, people in New York along with Z-pack, which is azithromycin, and it is very early yet. It started two days ago, but we will see what happens,” Trump told reporters at a White House news conference.

Last week, Trump said that drug could be a "gift from God."

"Hydroxychloroquine & Azithromycin, taken toger, have a real chance to be one of biggest game changers in history of medicine,” he tweeted Saturday.

Trump thanked Food and Drug ministration (FDA) Director Stephen Hawn for fast approval of this drug in treatment of COVID-19.

"Let's see how it may work or may t, but we may have some incredible results. We are going to kw soon, so it is being tested on 1,100 people in New York,” he said.

“ FDA is also allowing emergency use of a blood-related rapy called convalescent plasma as an experimental treatment for seriously ill patients,” said president.

Given drug's relatively harmless side effects, doctors are alrey beginning to incorporate drug in ir treatment of coronavirus cases. President Trump and New York Goverr Andrew Cuomo have both expressed optimism over drug's efficacy.

In a statement, Health and Human Services said that FDA has allowed drugs to be "donated to Strategic National Stockpile to be distributed and prescribed by doctors to hospitalised teen and ult patients with COVID-19, as appropriate, when a clinical trial is t available or feasible."

vartis's Sandoz has donated 30 million doses of Hydroxychloroquine to stockpile and Bayer donated 1 million doses of chloroquine, media statement said. Both drugs have been evaluated for use against COVID-19 in clinical trials around world.

number of deaths in New York state due to coronavirus outbreak has crossed 1,000 mark, with Goverr Cuomo warning that thousands of people will pass away before crisis ends in America's current COVID-19 epicentre.

Cuomo, dressing his daily press conference on pandemic on Sunday, said deaths due to massive virus outbreak in state sharply rose from 728 to 965 in just one day. At 237, this was largest one-day increase in number of deaths since coronavirus outbreak began. By end of day, death toll in state crossed 1,000-mark.

US has more than 140,000 vel coronavirus cases and 2,489 deaths, according to a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University.