A drug infamously touted by Donald Trump has been linked to nearly 17,000 Covid deaths in a new scientific study.
Researchers say that the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine was prescribed to patients during the first wave of Covid-19 “despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits.”
The French study estimated that 16,990 patients in the US, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain and Turkey may have died as a result of the drug.
The study has been published in the February issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.
Researchers say the data used comes from a study published in the Nature scientific journal, which reported that there was an 11 per cent increase in mortality rate linked to the drug’s prescription.
If you sold a lot of alcohol, you’ve almost certainly contributed to a death. Between drunk driving, stupid alcohol decisions, and cancer, alcohol is pretty much the most dangerous drug we have in terms of societal damage (because its usage is so widespread).
I probably shouldn’t have used the word “responsible”, though. If person A miles up the road was driving slightly over the speed limit they might make it through an orange light that they otherwise would have missed. This might place a new car at the front of the queue with person B, and this person may then get hit by a driver that missed a red light, leading to their death. While the chain of events ultimately led to their death, and if Person A had driven the speed limit then person B would probably still be alive, I don’t think you can say person A is responsible.