Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) said Wednesday he will take an anti-malaria drug that experts have warned doesn’t treat the coronavirus after he tested positive for the virus.
“My doctor and I are all-in,” Gohmert said about hydroxychloroquine during a Wednesday evening interview with Fox News, according to Newsweek.
“I got a text before I came on from a friend doctor who just found out he had it, and he started the regimen too — zinc and hydroxychloroquine. And that will start in a day or two, so thank you,” the congressman added.
Congressional aides confirmed Wednesday that Gohmert, who has largely opted against wearing a mask around the Capitol, tested positive for COVID-19.
President Trump has touted hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus and recently retweeted a since-removed video that contained false claims about the pandemic. The video included a physician who said people don’t need to wear masks to prevent spreading the virus and criticized studies showing that hydroxychloroquine is not effective for treating coronavirus infections, calling the studies “fake science.”
Anthony Fauci, a member of the White House coronavirus task force and the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, again stated, in light of the video, that the drug is not effective in treating COVID-19.
Fauci told MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday that scientific evidence has shown “consistently that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease, or COVID-19.”
Trump defended retweeting the video on Wednesday.
“I was very impressed with her and other doctors who stood with her,” Trump told reporters, referring to the controversial doctor Stella Immanuel. “I think she made sense, but I know nothing about it.”
“With hydroxy, all I want to do is save lives,” the president added. “All I want to do is save lives.”