Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel defended White House doctors and President Donald Trump’s decision to take hydroxychloroquine as a “reasonable” response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump made national news Monday and drew a bevvy of criticism by announcing that he had been taking the controversial drug for “about a week and a half.” Appearing on Monday night’s edition of “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Siegel insisted such medical decisions “between a doctor and a patient” should “not be challenged.”
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“In the lab, it shows antiviral activity against COVID-19, and it prevents uptake in the cells and it also decreases the inflammation that we are seeing with this virus,” Siegel contended before citing studies from other countries that “show it might work early in the course” of the virus.
“There is a big study in Spain and a huge study from the NIH looking at this,” he said. “Henry Ford hospital in Detroit has given it to 3,000 health care workers to see if it prevents them from getting COVID-19.”
The Fox News contributor, who often appears on the network to discuss the medical side of the coronavirus fight, said White House Dr. Sean Conley is “quite reasonable” and the decision to prescribe the drug is not “wild or anything like that.”
“I think its reasonable,” he said. “As you know, I think that that drug saved my father’s life.” (RELATED: Dr. Marc Siegel Explains Why US Might Not Face A Second Wave Of Coronavirus)
Responding to Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s statement that it’s “strange” to see “someone’s choice of medicine” turn into “a political story,” Siegel agreed: “Ridiculous! It shouldn’t be. And that, by the way, has led hydroxychloroquine to have to take a backseat. This political fighting over this virus interferes with the actual medicine we are seeing here. And I’m deeply disturbed by that. And I think the president has every right to take this and his doctor, who I respect, has every right to give it to him.”