Hydroxychloroquine: NHS staff to take drug as part of global trial

Participating hospitals begin enrolling volunteers to test drug's impact on coronavirus

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A major trial to see whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, taken by Donald Trump to protect himself against Covid-19, can prevent health workers from getting the disease is beginning in the UK and other countries.

Trump's revelation that he was taking the drug provoked an outcry from doctors, who warned it could have dangerous side-effects on the heart. The two forms of the drug, chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, can cause abnormal heart rhythms, which could be of additional concern in somebody who is overweight.