New York, May 13 (RHC)-- The largest study to date on the use of hydroxychloroquine against the coronavirus has confirmed earlier research that the anti-malarial drug could cause serious heart problems and is not an effective treatment for COVID-19.  Trump has repeatedly promoted the drug. 

The latest study — published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association — looked at nearly 1,500 patients in New York and found that those on hydroxychloroquine had a similar death rate to those who did not take it, but were more than twice as likely to suffer cardiac arrest. 

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert and adviser to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said: “The nail has virtually been put in the coffin of hydroxychloroquine.”