Free Republic

A medical institute in Australia will administer a trial at hospitals across the country to determine if the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine can prevent the spread of coronavirus. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research is spearheading the study on frontline workers in an effort to find a preventative measure to stop the spread of the virus. “The trial is focused on our frontline and allied healthcare workers who are at an increased risk of infection due to repeated exposure caring for sick patients,” said Professor Ian Wicks, joint head of clinical translation at the Institute.

President Donald Trump made headlines Monday when he voluntarily told reporters that he was taking hydroxychloroquine, which Trump has frequently touted as a "game changer" for coronavirus. This announcement was the latest development in Trump's weeks-long campaign in support of the drug, despite several reports and studies that have questioned its effectiveness in treating coronavirus patients. Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial drug often used to treat autoimmune diseases like lupus. The President, who has consistently tested negative for coronavirus, appeared to suggest he was taking the drug as a way to prevent getting infected, something he claimed frontline health workers are...