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Today we highlight an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel into an unproven remedy for COVID-19 repeatedly promoted by President Donald Trump. Reporters John Stauber and Daphne Chen found the drugs hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine have been tied to nearly 6,600 adverse events and nearly 300 deaths in the first six months of 2020. That is a massive increase over the same time period in 2019, when 75 people died and patients reported 3,251 negative effects of the anti-malarial drug. The adverse events included damage to the retina, severe low blood sugar, suicidal behavior and potentially fatal heart rhythms.
Top Stories
Trump’s praise of hydroxychloroquine led to a boom in prescriptions. Then came reports of thousands of patients experiencing adverse events. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As weekly unemployment benefits drop $600, aid agencies brace for spike in demand — WPR
Wisconsin Badgers’ positive COVID-19 test count climbs to 21 athletes — Wisconsin State Journal
Mammograms shouldn’t be ignored because of COVID-19 — 620 WTMJ
New La Crosse County COVID-19 risk assessment tool will be a ‘snapshot’ not a ‘dial’ — La Crosse Tribune
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Quotable
“The benefits really didn’t outweigh the risks. Our thought leaders have moved on. Hydroxychloroquine is not something that we should be messing around with.”
Philip Trapskin, program director for medication use safety at UW Health, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Data to note
Here are the latest visualizations of COVID-19 cases and deaths from our partners at WisContext.
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We interrupt this pandemic to bring you … opera! — Kenosha News
COVID-19 in photos: How Wisconsin is managing the pandemic — Wisconsin State Journal
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