
(AP)-A large new study suggests that malaria drugs pushed by President Donald Trump as treatments for the coronavirus not only do not help but also are tied to a greater risk of death and heart rhythm problems. Friday’s report involved nearly 100,000 patients around the world. It was not a rigorous test of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, but is by far the largest look at their use in real world settings. Separately on Friday, preliminary results were published for a study of the experimental drug remdesivir. As previously announced, the Gilead Sciences drug shortened the time to recovery – 11 days on average versus 15 days for those just given usual care for COVID-19.