{"slug":"trump-hydroxychloroquine-bleach-covid-misinformation","title":"COVID Misinformation: Hydroxychloroquine, Bleach Injection, UV Light Promotion","date":"2020-03-19","lastUpdated":"2020-08-23","description":"Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump repeatedly promoted unproven or dangerous treatments from the White House podium: hydroxychloroquine before clinical trials established its safety or efficacy, injection of bleach or disinfectants as a possible treatment, ultraviolet light 'inside the body,' and oleander extract. When FDA scientists approved the use of convalescent plasma under Emergency Use Authorization in August 2020, Trump claimed it had a '35% improvement in mortality' — a figure the FDA's own Commissioner contradicted the same day. The FDA revoked its hydroxychloroquine EUA in June 2020 citing heart risks.","summary":"Trump promoted hydroxychloroquine at least 65 times in White House briefings before studies established it was ineffective and potentially dangerous for COVID. He suggested at an April 23, 2020 briefing that injecting disinfectants might work as treatment and asked officials to study inserting UV light 'inside the body.' Poison control centers reported a spike in calls after the disinfectant comments. The FDA granted hydroxychloroquine an Emergency Use Authorization in March 2020 under White House pressure, then revoked it in June 2020 citing 'serious cardiac adverse events.' Trump campaign donors funded oleander extract studies. His false '35% mortality improvement' claim for convalescent plasma prompted FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to issue a correction the same day.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"critical","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/23/us/politics/trump-briefing-disinfectant-sunlight.html","title":"Trump Muses About Light and Disinfectant as Virus Cures","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/06/15/hydroxychloroquine-fda-revokes-authorization/","title":"FDA revokes authorization for hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-bleach-disinfectant-coronavirus-poison-control","title":"Calls to poison control spiked after Trump's disinfectant comments","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/23/health/convalescent-plasma-fda-eua.html","title":"Trump Pressured FDA Over Convalescent Plasma as Hahn Corrected False Claim","publisher":"The New York Times"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["covid","misinformation","hydroxychloroquine","bleach","first-term","FDA","public-health"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2020-03-19","title":"Trump begins hydroxychloroquine promotion","summary":"Trump publicly promotes hydroxychloroquine as a potential COVID treatment at a White House briefing, before any clinical trial results. He will promote it at least 65 more times."},{"date":"2020-03-28","title":"FDA grants hydroxychloroquine Emergency Use Authorization","summary":"The FDA grants an Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine for hospitalized COVID patients under White House pressure. Supplies for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients — the drug's established uses — become disrupted."},{"date":"2020-04-23","title":"Trump suggests bleach injection and UV light 'inside the body'","summary":"At a White House briefing, Trump suggests injection of disinfectants and UV light inside the body as potential COVID treatments. Poison control centers report a spike in disinfectant calls. Manufacturers issue warnings. Trump claims sarcasm."},{"date":"2020-06-15","title":"FDA revokes hydroxychloroquine EUA","summary":"The FDA revokes its Emergency Use Authorization for hydroxychloroquine, citing evidence the drug is 'unlikely to be effective' for COVID and poses serious cardiac risks. Multiple randomized controlled trials have found no benefit."},{"date":"2020-08-23","title":"Trump claims '35% mortality improvement' for convalescent plasma — FDA corrects him","summary":"Trump overstates the convalescent plasma data at an EUA announcement. FDA Commissioner Hahn contradicts the '35%' figure the same day and issues a correction. The incident draws criticism about White House pressure on the FDA's scientific communications."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, D.C.","lat":38.9072,"lng":-77.0369},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Americans who took hydroxychloroquine without clinical indication based on presidential promotion; cardiac patients whose hydroxychloroquine supplies were disrupted; people who ingested disinfectants following the briefing comments; public health credibility damaged during critical pandemic period","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; repeatedly promoted unproven treatments from White House podium; pressured FDA to grant hydroxychloroquine EUA","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2020-08-23","summary":"Updated with convalescent plasma EUA incident."}]}}