Trump says antimalarial drug soon available to treat COVID-19 in US

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said Thursday that an antimalarial drug will soon be made available with a prescription to treat the novel coronavirus.

It is a common drug and will soon be available for "prescribed use" on coronavirus, Trump told a daily briefing at the White House, calling it a "game-changer."

Trump said he has pushed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to eliminate barriers to getting therapeutics for coronavirus patients.

The drug, which Trump calls "chloroquine" or "hydroxychloroquine," has shown "very, very encouraging" early results, the president said.

Addressing potential safety concerns, Trump noted that it had been used previously in treating malaria, "so we know if things don't go as planned, it's not going to kill anybody."

"We have to remove every barrier or a lot of barriers that were unnecessary, and they've done that to get the rapid deployment of safe, effective treatments. We think we have some good answers," he said. "We slashed red tape to develop vaccines and therapies as fast as it can possibly be done."

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said it is the FDA's responsibility to ensure that products are safe and effective when discussing the drugs and therapeutic options being explored to address the coronavirus.

"I have great hope for how we are going to come out of this situation," he said.

Hahn said the FDA is expanding its work regarding potential therapeutic options. "We need to make sure that this sea of new treatments -- we'll get the right drug to the right patient at the right dosage at the right time."

US Vice President Mike Pence said that "tens of thousands" of COVID-19 tests are being performed every day across the country.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the United States has topped 11,238 as of 15:00 Eastern Standard Time Thursday, with 157 deaths, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.