During the week of March 15 to March 21, there were 45,858 short-term prescription fills for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, compared to 2,208 in 2019, according to researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School whose findings were published Thursday. .
They said overall there were 483,425 excess prescriptions fills of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in the 10 weeks from Feb.
Patients who took the drug or chloroquine, which hydroxychloroquine is derived from, were also more likely to develop irregular heart rhythms, according to the study, which looked at more than 96,000 patients from 671 hospitals across six continents. .
Earlier this month, Trump said he has been taking hydroxychloroquine daily for over a week to prevent infection from the coronavirus despite warnings from the Food and Drug Administration that it may cause serious heart issues. .