The CBC has published a story blaming U.S. President Donald Trump for the death of a man who drank aquarium cleaner believing it would prevent COVID-19.
On Monday, a man from Arizona died after he and his wife consumed aquarium cleaner that contained chloroquine, a drug that Trump has been promoting as a possible treatment for COVID-19.
However, the couple was not drinking the medicinal form of chloroquine, but rather fish tank cleaner containing chloroquine phosphate – leading to immediate poisoning.
The man’s wife was able to vomit much of the cleaning agent and survived the incident.
Despite the unnamed woman giving a lengthy interview to NBC, the CBC only shared one quote from her, where she bashes the president.
“Trump kept saying it was basically pretty much a cure,” the woman said.
“Don’t take anything. Don’t believe anything. Don’t believe anything that the president says… call your doctor.”
While the man’s death is a horrible mishap, it is wrong to suggest Trump was to blame for the incident.
Over the past couple of weeks, Trump has been touting chloroquine, an anti-malaria medication, along with two other drugs as possible “game-changers” in the fight against COVID-19.
Chloroquine is currently being tested in the United States as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
Studies have shown that chloroquine has been successful at treating COVID-19 in patients in China, though its overall effectiveness is still being researched. South Korea and France are also experimenting with chloroquine.
Currently, there is no cure for COVID-19, and medical professionals are making it clear that people should not attempt to self-medicate.
“Given the uncertainty around COVID-19, we understand that people are trying to find new ways to prevent or treat this virus, but self-medicating is not the way to do so,” said Dr. Daniel Brooks of Arizona’s Banner Poison and Drug Information Center.
“The last thing that we want right now is to inundate our emergency departments with patients who believe they found a vague and risky solution that could potentially jeopardize their health.”
