A Wisconsin woman was reportedly surprised to learn of her COVID-19 diagnosis after taking hydroxychloroquine for nearly two decades, the same drug President Donald Trump recently said he is taking to ward off the virus.
Kim, who asked to be identified by her first name only, has been taking hydroxychloroquine as a lupus treatment for 19 years, according ABC affiliate WISN. The drug has long been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and malaria. It has not been approved to treat or prevent COVID-19.
“When they gave the diagnosis, I felt like it was a death sentence. I was like, ‘I’m going to die,'” Kim told the outlet. “I’m like, ‘How can I be sick? How? I’m on the hydroxychloroquine.’ They were like, ‘Well, nobody ever said that was the cure or that was going to keep you safe’ and it definitely did not.”
Kim said she had believed she would not contract the virus because Trump touted the drug as effective, even though most medical experts urged caution. Despite only leaving her house to go to the grocery store, she started to experience troubling symptoms in mid-April.
“Weak all over. Coughing, fever. The fever was very high,” she said. “It just went downhill from there. I couldn’t breathe no more.”
