副总统迈克·彭斯说，他不会像总统唐纳德·特朗普那样，先发制人地服用抗疟疾药物羟氯喹来抵御COVID-19，因为他的医生不推荐使用这种药物。
特朗普周一表示，尽管缺乏证据证明这种药物是安全有效的，但他已经服用这种药物约一周半了。彭斯没有以总统为榜样，他在周二告诉福克斯新闻，他的医生不同意特朗普的医疗建议，同时指出他支持其他人做出不同的决定。
“我不是[服用羟氯喹]，但我绝不会嫉妒任何一个美国人接受他们医生的建议，”彭斯说。“我的医生没有建议，但我会毫不犹豫地接受我的医生的建议。任何美国人都应该这样做。”
今年4月，美国食品和药物管理局(FDA)警告公众不要在医院之外服用该药物，指出它可能会导致“潜在的危及生命的心律问题”，并且“未被证明对治疗或预防COVID-19是安全有效的”
2020年5月19日，副总统迈克·彭斯在美国首都华盛顿的一次会议后离开参议院多数党领袖米奇·麦康奈尔的办公室。
推荐该药物作为病毒治疗方法的证据并不充分。一些早期研究显示有希望，但其他几项研究并不令人鼓舞。结果来自研究由美国退伍军人事务部(退伍军人事务部)进行的研究表明，这种药物没有任何益处，可能会增加单独服用的患者的死亡率。
最近发表在美国医学协会杂志还有新英格兰医学杂志还发现羟氯喹对病毒没有统计学上的显著影响，其中一人指出它会增加患者患心脏病的风险。
特朗普在宣布他正在服用这种药物之前，大肆吹捧这种药物是“游戏规则的改变者”。周二，他表示，任何关于该药物的不利证据都是为了损害他的声誉，声称进行退伍军人管理局研究的研究人员“显然不是政府的朋友”，然后将他们的结论描述为“敌人的陈述”
特朗普告诉记者:“如果你看看唯一一项糟糕的调查，他们把它给了那些状况非常糟糕的人，他们都很老了，都快死了。”。"这是特朗普的敌人声明。"
尽管彭斯本人没有服用该药物，但他指出，该药物已被美国食品和药物管理局批准为“非标签使用”，同时建议，尽可能多地提供COVID-19药物和补救措施是该管理局的优先事项。
“这是一个我们希望确保每个美国人和他们的医生都有机会获得最广泛的治疗和药物的时代，这就是为什么美国食品和药物管理局很早就做出了批准，”彭斯告诉福克斯新闻。
羟氯喹继续作为一种可能的病毒治疗方法进行研究，双盲对照试验由国家健康研究所赞助，上周开始实施。
新闻周刊联系了彭斯的办公室征求意见。这篇文章将会更新任何回应。
PENCE'S DOCTOR DISAGREES WITH TRUMP'S ON USING HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE TO PREVENT CORONAVIRUS
Vice President Mike Pence says he is not preemptively taking the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to ward off COVID-19 like President Donald Trump because his doctor does not recommend using the drug.
Trump said Monday that he been taking the drug to prevent the virus for about a week and a half, despite a lack of evidence that it is safe or effective. Pence is not following the president's example, telling Fox News on Tuesday that his doctor disagrees with Trump's medical advice, while noting that he supports others making different decisions.
"I'm not [taking hydroxychloroquine], but I would never begrudge any American taking the advice of their physician," Pence said. "My physician has not recommended that, but I wouldn't hesitate to take the counsel of my doctor. Any American should do likewise."
In April, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned the public to not take the drug outside of a hospital setting, noting that it could cause "potentially life-threatening heart rhythm problems " and had "not been shown to be safe and effective for treating or preventing COVID-19."
Vice President Mike Pence departs the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after a meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on May 19, 2020.
Evidence recommending the drug as a treatment for the virus has not been strong. Some early studies showed promise, but several other studies have been less than encouraging. Results from a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) suggested that the drug had no benefit and may increase deaths for patients who take it alone.
Recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine also found that hydroxychloroquine had no statistically significant effect on the virus, with one noting that it could increase the risk of patients suffering heart attacks.
Trump heavily touted the drug as a "game changer" before announcing he was taking it. On Tuesday he suggested that any unfavorable evidence about the drug is intended to damage his reputation, claiming the researchers that conducted the VA study were "obviously not friends of the administration," before later describing their conclusion as an "enemy statement."
"If you look at the one survey, the only bad survey, they were giving it to people that were in very bad shape, they were very old, almost dead," Trump told reporters. "It was a Trump enemy statement."
Although Pence is not taking the drug himself, he noted that the drug had been approved by the FDA for "off-label use," while suggesting that making as many COVID-19 drugs and remedies available as possible was a priority of the administration.
"This is a time when we wanted to make sure that every American and their doctors had full access to the broadest range of remedies and medicines and that was why the FDA made that approval early on," Pence told Fox News.
Hydroxychloroquine continues to be studied as a possible treatment for the virus, with a double-blind controlled trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health getting underway last week.
Newsweek reached out to Pence's office for comment. This article will be updated with any response.
