Got sizeable hydroxychloroquine chunk from India, says Trump
   Date :09-Apr-2020
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By Lalit K Jha :
 
WASHINGTON,
 
“I bought millions of doses of hydroxychloroquine. More than 29 million. I spoke to Prime Minister Modi, a lot of it comes out of India. I asked him if he would release it? He was great. He was really good,” said Trump 
 
A SIZEABLE chunk of the 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine bought by the US to combat the coronavirus pandemic is from India, President Donald Trump has said as he acknowledged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was “great” when he sought his help to allow the sale of the anti-malaria drug to treat the growing number of COVID-19 patients in America.
 
Trump and Prime Minister Modi spoke over the phone last week. During the call, Trump requested Modi to lift the hold on the American order of hydroxychloroquine, of which India is the major producer. Hydroxychloroquine has been identified by the US Food and Drug Administration as a possible treatment for the COVID-19 and it is being tested on more than 1,500 coronavirus patients in New York. Anticipating that it will work, given initial positive results, Trump has bought more than 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine for potential treatment of COVID-19 patients.
 
“I bought millions of doses (of hydroxychloroquine). More than 29 million. I spoke to Prime Minister Modi, a lot of it (hydroxychloroquine) comes out of India. I asked him if he would release it? He was great. He was really good,” Trump told Sean Hannity of the ‘Fox News’. “You know they put a stop because they wanted it for India,” Trump said responding to a question on the usage of hydroxychloroquine.
 
India on Tuesday allowed the export of hydroxychloroquine to the US, which has emerged as the global hotspot of COVID-19. By Tuesday night, nearly four lakh Americans tested positive for the novel coronavirus and the fatalities was more than 12,850. During the interview, Trump described hydroxychloroquine as a powerful malaria drug.