Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

By Nicole Cobler

AUSTIN, Texas _ U.S. Rep. Louis Gohmert said he will take the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, one day after testing positive for the virus at the White House.

“My doctor and I are all in,” the Texas Republican told Sean Hannity Wednesday evening on Fox News, adding that he will start the regimen in the “next day or two.”

Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug, has been touted by President Donald Trump as a possible cure for COVID-19, despite research that has shown the drug is not effective in treating the virus.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration withdrew its emergency-use authorization for the drug, warning against the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial because of the risk of heart rhythm problems.

And Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation’s top infectious disease experts, agreed with the FDA’s decision Wednesday, one day after Trump said he still thinks the drug can treat COVID-19.

“The overwhelming prevailing clinical trials that have looked at the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine have indicated that it is not effective in (treating the) coronavirus disease,” Fauci said.

Gohmert, who was scheduled to fly to Texas on Wednesday morning with Trump, tested positive at the White House and did not go on the trip.

He said he does not have any COVID-19 symptoms but will self-quarantine for 10 days.

In his Fox News interview, Gohmert added that Trump called him from Air Force One his way back from Texas.

“I told him, ‘Mr. President, if you had not invited me to go with you to West Texas, I would never have known I had the coronavirus,'” he said.

The eight-term congressman, who is regularly spotted on Capitol Hill without a mask, suggested Wednesday that he might not have become infected if he hadn’t been wearing a mask in recent days.

“There are an awful lot of people that think it’s the great thing to do all the time, but I can’t help but think if I hadn’t been wearing a mask so much in the last 10 days or so, I really wonder if I would’ve gotten it,” Gohmert said in an interview with KETK. “I know moving the mask around, getting it just right, I’m bound to have put some virus on the mask that I sucked in. That’s most likely what happened.”

His remarks fly in the face of advice from health experts, who recommend masks even for those without symptoms to stop the spread of the virus. Scientific research also has found that masks prevent people from spreading the virus to others and might even protect those wearing them.

___

(c)2020 Austin American-Statesman, Texas

Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

_____

PHOTO (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): Gohmert