Texas nursing home tests Trump's experimental coronavirus treatment for him by treating residents with hydroxychlorquine after 83 got infected with virus and one died (10 Pics)
A Texas nursing home has tested President Donald Trump's experimental coronavirus treatment by injecting patients with hydroxychlorquine.
Medical director Dr Robin Armstrong - who is also a Republican National Committee member and GOP activist - used the anti-malaria drug to treat patients at The Resort at Texas City.
A total of 83 residents and employees at the facility have tested positive for coronavirus, which has killed 12,876 and infected more than 398,000 in the US.
Resident Peggy Smith, 87, died at the nursing home after testing positive for the bug.
Medical director of The Resort at Texas City nursing home Dr Robin Armstrong - who is also a Republican National Committee member and GOP activist - used the anti-malaria drug to treat patients
To get the drug, Dr Armstrong (pictured) called Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick - the Texas chairman of Trump's presidential campaign in 2016
Dr Armstrong (pictured) soon had enough doses to begin treating 27 infected residents but said it is too soon to tell whether the treatment will work
President Trump has repeatedly advocated for hydroxychloroquine to be used as a Covid-19 treatment even though many medical officials have urged a more cautious approach.
To get the drug, Dr Armstrong called Republican Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick - the Texas chairman of Trump's presidential campaign in 2016.
Dr Armstrong soon had enough doses to begin treating 27 infected residents but said it is too soon to tell whether the treatment will work.
His sweeping use of the drug illustrates how Trump's championing of the medication is having an impact on doctors across the US, even as scientists warn that more testing is needed before it is proven safe and effective.
A total of 83 residents and employees at the facility (pictured) have tested positive for coronavirus, which has killed 12,876 and infected more than 398,000 in the US
Dr Armstrong's (right) sweeping use of the drug illustrates how Trump's championing of the medication is having an impact on doctors across the US, even as scientists warn that more testing is needed before it is proven safe and effective
Dr Armstrong said: 'I probably would not have been able to get the medication had he not been talking about it so much.'
Hydroxychloroquine is officially approved for treating malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, not coronavirus.
But as Trump holds out promise for the drug in the face of a mounting death toll, he has often stated, 'What have you got to lose?'
Dr Armstrong, who emerged from the nursing home Tuesday donned in full protective gear and a face shield, said he knew it was a 'ticking time bomb' once the virus started spreading through the facility in Texas City, a refinery town outside Houston
Now in Texas, political connections and Trump allies are helping push the drug into the hands of more physicians.
Republican Bryan Hughes, a Texas state senator, said he is helping organize a pipeline of hydroxychloroquine donations to other states through their GOP leaders.
Senator Hughes said he has spent recent weeks helping Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas and Georgia receive or expect shipments from Amneal Pharmaceuticals, a maker of the drug based in New Jersey.
Hydroxychloroquine is officially approved for treating malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, not coronavirus
Last month, the company announced it had donated one million tablets to Texas.
The company previously said it donated two million tablets to New York,
In Detroit, Henry Ford Health System announced it would lead a 3,000-person US study to determine the effectiveness of the drug against COVID-19.
Small, preliminary studies have suggested the drug might help prevent the new coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner. But those have shown mixed results.
More than 80 people in all tested positive at the nursing home, and Dr Armstrong said about 30 infected residents were not good candidates for the treatment
Dr Armstrong, who emerged from the nursing home Tuesday donned in full protective gear and a face shield, said he knew it was a 'ticking time bomb' once the virus started spreading through the facility in Texas City, a refinery town outside Houston.
At that point, Dr Armstrong said, the goal quickly became preventing older patients from getting so sick they would require a hospital transport.
'We thought maybe we should try treating these folks while they're in the nursing facility, while we're watching them,' Dr Armstrong said.
Dr Armstrong (pictured), who said he has used the drug before on COVID-19 patients at a hospital, said that in searching for the medication for the nursing home he called Lieutenant Governor Patrick
Dr Armstrong, who said he has used the drug before on COVID-19 patients at a hospital, said that in searching for the medication for the nursing home he called Lieutenant Governor Patrick.
Lieutenant Governor Patrick is a firebrand conservative who drew national attention last month for saying people over the age of 70 would be able to 'take care of ourselves' in the pandemic and that the US needed to reopen for business.
In a statement, Lieutenant Governor Patrick said Dr Armstrong called him on Friday and that after putting him in touch with Senator Hughes, the drugs were on their way the next morning.
Both Dr Armstrong and Senator Hughes said they had not discussed the drug with the Trump administration.
The drug can cause potentially dangerous side effects, including life-threatening irregular heart rhythms
As nursing home residents began receiving their first dose of the treatment Saturday, Dr Armstrong said he sat for a previously scheduled interview with the Trump campaign for a series called 'American Heroes.'
Dr Armstrong said the interview was conducted by Kayleigh McEnany - who was named the new White House press secretary Tuesday - but said he wasn't invited on to discuss the drug.
Research studies are beginning to test if the drugs truly help COVID-19 patients, and the Food and Drug Administration has allowed the drugs into the national stockpile as an option for doctors to consider for patients who cannot get into one of the studies.
The drug can cause potentially dangerous side effects, including life-threatening irregular heart rhythms. Those risks are even higher in patients taking other medications that affect the heart.
More than 80 people in all tested positive at the nursing home, and Dr Armstrong said about 30 infected residents were not good candidates for the treatment.
He endorsed the need for more rigorous clinical trials, but defended Trump's embrace.
He said: 'Obviously, I'm not getting my medical practice ideas from politicians.
'What it's done is allowed for more access to the medication.'
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
Texas nursing home tests Trump's experimental coronavirus treatment for him by treating residents with hydroxychlorquine after 83 got infected with virus and one died (10 Pics)
![Texas nursing home tests Trump's experimental coronavirus treatment for him by treating residents with hydroxychlorquine after 83 got infected with virus and one died (10 Pics)]()
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April 08, 2020
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