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Big study casts more doubt on malaria drugs for coronavirus

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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.