Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on the day's biggest business stories
Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Trump briefs the press on March 20. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
President Trump tweeted on Saturday that hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, and azithromycin, an antibiotic, "have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine" when taken together — as novel coronavirus cases surge in the U.S.
Reality check, via Axios' Sam Baker: Hydroxychloroquine has shown some promise against the coronavirus in a very small French study, but it is not federally approved to treat the COVID-19 because no official studies have been conducted to determine whether it's both safe and effective for those sick patients.
- "What I said is that we don’t have definitive proof that it works," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Friday on Fox, in regards to the anti-malarial drug chloroquine. "So what we need to do, since there are suggestions anecdotally that it works, try to get it available, but to do it in the context of a protocol where we accomplish two things."
- "We make something that’s maybe hope and promising for someone, at the same time we determine whether or not it’s safe and whether or not it actually does work," Fauci added.
Go deeper: Chloroquine, an old anti-malarial drug, takes the coronavirus spotlight