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Everyone’s Has an opinion on Hydroxychloroquine
Everyone — including Trump — has an opinion about this potential COVID-19 treatment, and that’s making it hard to find out if it works
By Felice J. Freyer Globe Staff,Updated May 30, 2020, 12:00 a.m.

A pack of Hydroxychloroquine Sulfate medication. JOHN PHILLIPS/GETTY IMAGES
It’s the six-syllable word that’s on everyone’s lips, an obscure generic drug touted by President Trump and scorned by many others: hydroxychloroquine

Many people have formed strong opinions, often along party lines. But in reality, no one knows whether hydroxychloroquine is a safe or effective treatment for COVID-19.

And the polarized arguments are making it hard for scientists to find out.

Dr. Michael K. Paasche-Orlow, an internist and researcher at Boston Medical Center, said that because of the politics surrounding the drug, he is having trouble recruiting participants for two studies — one examining whether hydroxychloroquine can help people who have tested positive for COVID-19 but are not hospitalized, the other seeing if it can prevent illness in people who have been exposed.