West, the former chair of the state Republican party, tweeted that his oxygen levels are low and he will likely be hospitalized, but says his condition is “not serious.”

The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has been a controversial subject throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241.

SAN ANTONIO – The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has been a controversial subject throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. When studies released in June showed the drug did not help COVID-19 patients and even posed further risk, some of the conversation died out. However on Tuesday, posts on Twitter refueled the fire, so KSAT checked in with San Antonio hospitals and medical professionals to see if they’re using the drug. Hydroxychloroquine was one of the first medications tested around the world in hopes it would help treat COVID-19 patients. Locally, almost all the large hospital systems have used the drug at one point.

“I think they’re very respected doctors," Trump said, adding they believed in the drug. Scientific studies have shown hydroxychloroquine can do more harm than good when used to treat symptoms of COVID-19. In addition to sharing the video, Trump retweeted several tweets that attacked the credibility of Fauci, a leading member of the White House coronavirus task force. But Trump also says he gets along with the longtime head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The company also took down a tweet from Donald Trump Jr. describing one version of the video as a “must watch!!

The National Institutes of Health announced Saturday that it has halted a clinical trial evaluating the safety and effectiveness of drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for adults hospitalized with Covid-19. The trial enrolled more than 470 adults patients hospitalized with coronavirus, or in an emergency department with anticipated hospitalization. The study found that those patients who were randomly assigned to receive the hydroxychloroquine treatment didn't benefit from the drug, compared to those in the placebo group. The US Food and Drug Administration on Monday revoked its Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine to treat hospitalized patients with coronavirus, saying it was unlikely to provide any benefit based on the latest scientific research. INTERACTIVE: Tracking Covid-19 cases in the USStarting in mid-March, Trump became a frequent cheerleader for hydroxychloroquine.

Leaders of a large study in the United Kingdom that is rigorously testing the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and other medicines for hospitalized COVID-19 patients say they will stop putting people on the drug because its clear it isnt helping. Results released Friday from 1,542 patients showed the drug did not reduce deaths, time in the hospital or other factors. The results convincingly rule out any meaningful mortality benefit, study leaders at the University of Oxford said in a statement. The Oxford study is the largest study so far to put hydroxychloroquine to a strict test. The World Health Organization is leading a similar study testing hydroxychloroquine and several other therapies versus standard of care.

SAN ANTONIO – Metropolitan Health District officials are warning about the dangers of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine after reports that President Donald Trump said he is taking it to prevent the novel coronavirus. Dr. Junda Woo, medical director of the Metro Health, advises against taking the drug for COVID-19. Trump attacks study, defends using malaria drug for COVID-19“We don't have conclusive science right now to show that it helps,” Woo said, adding that taking the drug could yield dangerous side effects. She isn’t saying the drug could not have an effect on the coronavirus, but it's too early to tell. Woo said it is promising to see that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave emergency use authorization for the drug remdesivir.

If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241. Copyright © 2020 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and pubished by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings.

SAN ANTONIO – President Donald Trump has said he is taking hydroxychloroquine, a drug commonly used to treat lupus or malaria, as a preventive measure to battle COVID-19. KSAT viewers wanted us to ask local Doctor Ruth Berggren from UT Health, “Is this a good idea”? “We only use prescription medication when we know that the benefits are going to outweigh the risks and the public needs to know the risks of hydroxychloroquine are not trivial,” Berggren said. Until that happens, I do not recommend that people take this drug,” Berggren said. Watch anchor Steve Spriester ask local leaders your questions weeknights at 6 p.m. on KSAT12 and 9 p.m. on KSAT-TV and KSAT.com.

President Donald Trump and his administration kept up their out-sized promotion Monday of an malaria drug not yet officially approved for fighting the new coronavirus, even though scientists say more testing is needed before its proven safe and effective against COVID-19. (AP Photo/John Locher)Some politicians and doctors are sparring over whether to use hydroxychloroquine against the new coronavirus, with many scientists saying the evidence is too thin to recommend it now. It's been used since the 1940s to prevent and treat malaria, and to treat rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. Four people developed severe illness and all were in the group that did not get the drug. Finally, the small study from France that President Donald Trump touted as evidence of the drug's benefit is now in question.

But medical officials warn that it's dangerous to be hawking unproven remedies, and even Trump's own experts have cautioned against it. Small, preliminary studies have suggested it might help prevent the new coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner. Doctors are already prescribing the malaria drug to patients with COVID-19, a practice known as off-label prescribing. Navarro told Fox News Channel's “Fox & Friends” that doctors in New York hospitals are already distributing the drug to COVID-19 patients and that health care workers are taking it in hopes of being protected from infection. He has had, as guests, several experts touting the drug and made a few late-night phone calls to the White House residence.

(CNN) -- White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Monday said he was qualified to engage and disagree with Dr. Anthony Fauci on the use of an anti-malarial drug as a coronavirus treatment -- which is not yet proven as effective -- saying, "I'm a social scientist." My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I'm a social scientist," he told CNN's John Berman on "New Day." "I have a Ph.D. And I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it's in medicine, the law, economics or whatever." Heated disagreement breaks out in Situation Room over hydroxychloroquineNavarro's remarks follow reports that he clashed with officials in the Situation Room over the weekend about the unproven efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in treating coronavirus. US, UK brace for soaring death tolls as pandemic bears downAxios first reported on the disagreement inside the White House about the drug.

(CNN) -- There was a heated disagreement in the Situation Room this weekend over the efficacy of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine -- but multiple sources say it was mostly one-sided, as President Donald Trump's top trade adviser Peter Navarro feuded with other officials over the drug's unproven effectiveness to treat coronavirus. White House coronavirus task force holds briefing at 4 p.m. MondayAxios first reported on the disagreement inside the White House about the drug. A source close to the task force said Fauci is not backing off his belief that hydroxychloroquine is not a proven treatment for coronavirus. Another source told CNN that despite the disagreement in the Situation Room between Fauci and Navarro, Fauci continues to have a good relationship with Trump and Pence, though some staffers have shown irritation when his opinions differ. Trump in recent days has pointed to hydroxychloroquine as a treatment despite scant scientific evidence of the drug's effectiveness.