US approves anti-malarial drug to treat COVID-19, says President Donald Trump

United States President Donald Trump said the drug will be made available immediately by prescription.

The US has approved the anti-malarial drug chloroquine for use as a treatment against the new coronavirus, President Donald Trump said Thursday.

United States President Donald Trump. (Reuters)

“We’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately, and that’s where the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has been so great,” Trump told reporters.

“They’ve gone through the approval process -- it’s been approved. They took it down from many, many months to immediate. So we’re going to be able to make that drug available by prescription.”