Fauci Rejects Hydroxychloroquine Endorsements: Science Is Not There

All scientific evidence shows that hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday, rejecting the claims made in a video retweeted by President Donald Trump, who is once again endorsing the medication, as being from "a bunch of people spouting something that isn't true." 

"The only thing that I can do is to do what I've done all along, consistently, is that you look at the scientific data and the evidence," Fauci told MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell. "Clinical trials that were valid, namely clinical trials that were randomized and controlled in the proper way, all of those trials showed consistently that hydroxychloroquine is not effective in the treatment of coronavirus disease or COVID-19."

Fauci also said he's concerned about the rapid development of a vaccine for the potentially deadly virus, but he does believe by the end of the year it will be known if there is a safe, effective vaccine. 

However, he's concerned that the government has invested hundreds of millions, if not billions, into getting the vaccine into production, which means companies will be starting to manufacture doses before it's known if the vaccine works. 

"That's not a risk of safety, that's not a risk of scientific integrity, it's a financial risk, which means that if the vaccine works, we've saved a lot of months," said Fauci. "If the vaccine doesn't work, unfortunately, we've lost money, but that's all we've lost."

He also said that he's concerned about surges in places like Indiana and Ohio, noting that the Coronavirus Task Force has warned governors that action must be taken. 

However, he acknowledged that state and local mask mandates are a controversial subject and could be a distraction, so he favors strongly recommending masks and pushing for citizens to realize why they're important in protecting themselves and each other. 

Fauci also said that after several baseball players with the Miami Marlins have tested positive for coronavirus, he's concerned about whether the season will continue, but he hopes it doesn't mean closing ballgames again. 

"I don't think it necessarily has to be that, but we better keep our eye out on that because if it happened to the Miami Marlins, it could happen to the other teams," he said. 

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