Donald Trump should not be taking unapproved drugs as a preventative measure for coronavirus as he is “morbidly obese”, Nancy Pelosi says.
Mr Trump revealed he has been taking hydroxychloroquine for the last week and a half in pill form and has had “zero symptoms”.
In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 programme, house speaker Mrs Pelosi said: “As far as the president is concerned, he’s our president and I would rather he would not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group, and his, shall we say, weight group, morbidly obese, they say.
“As far as the President is concerned, he’s our President and I would rather he not be taking something that has not been approved by the scientists, especially in his age group and in his, shall we say, weight group — morbidly obese, they say. So, I think it’s not a good idea.“
The president, who is 73, passed the official threshold for being considered obese, with a Body Mass Index of 30.4, in February last year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a BMI of 40 or above is considered morbidly obese.
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), earlier said there was no evidence the drug could prevent coronavirus, but added there was some anecdotal evidence to show it can treat patients who are infected with the virus.
Studies published in the medical journal BMJ have disputed this, saying patients given the drug did not improve significantly over those who did not.
The US Food and Drug Administration has warned against the use of hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 patients outside of a hospital setting or clinical trial due to the risk of serious heart rhythm problems.
But Mr Trump has backed the drug as a potential COVID-19 cure, despite the warnings.
Asked whether he could provide any evidence hydroxychloroquine has a preventative effect, Mr Trump told reporters: “I get a lot of positive calls about it.”
“I’ve heard a lot of good stories. And if it is not good, I will tell you right.
“I’m not going to get hurt by it. It has been around for 40 years for malaria, for lupus, for other things.”
The UK government also stressed that taking the anti-malarial drug was “not something we recommend doing”.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “It’s not something which our own medical experts are recommending.”
