Nancy Pelosi Warns 'Morbidly Obese' Donald Trump Off Drug
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said President Donald Trump shouldn't take the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine because he's "morbidly obese" and at risk of negative health effects.
Speaking on CNN on Monday night she expressed concern over Trump taking the drug, which some people believe is a treatment for coronavirus, but it has not been proven by medical experts or the US Food and Drug Administration.
"He's our president and I rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and his - shall we say weight group - morbidly obese, they say. I think it's not a good idea," she said, Reuters reported.
Trump disclosed earlier on Monday that he has been taking daily doses of hydroxychloroquine for a week and a half.
His physician, Sean P. Conley, said in a White House press release that he and the president think taking the drug is worth the possible harmful side effects.
"After numerous discussions he and I had regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we concluded the potential benefit outweighed the relative risk," Conley said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a senior member of the White House's coronavirus task force, has also voiced his doubt about using hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19 before it could be properly tested.
Trump said he started taking hydroxychloroquine because he had read letters from frontline responders saying they were taking it to be safe.
"Here's my evidence: I get a lot of positive calls about it," he said.
In a medical examination from last year, Trump was considered obese, but not morbidly obese.