Monday on CNN’s “The Lead,” anchor Jake Tapper highlighted an Axios report that President Donald Trump was interested in oleandrin a plant extract from the poisonous plant oleander, as a treatment for coronavirus.
Tapper said, “Let’s bring in Dr. William Schaffner. Doctor Schaffner, this supplement comes from the plant oleander, which is toxic, this plant, it could be deadly if you eat it. The drug is not tested or approved for any medical use right now that I could discern. What do we know about the safety of the supplement itself and whether or not it has any therapeutic use when it comes to coronavirus?”
Dr. William Schaffner said, “Oh, Jake, dream on. Put it to rest. I mean, this is not magical thinking we’re dealing with here. This is a serious viral infection, and before we start talking about therapeutic agents, we need good, solid studies to show that they work and that they’re safe. So until we have those, can we not—you and I —I know you have to talk about it, but I wish I didn’t have to talk about it because we need good, solid data, evidence for decision-making. That is what we need.”
Tapper said, “No, I hear you. But I guess the point is the president is out there talking about this and I want to make sure that our viewers and the public have all of the facts as opposed to whatever the president is being told by the My Pillow guy. And I want to make sure that experts such as you are able to say, if you think that this is the message that is appropriate, don’t take it, this is quackery, stay away.”
Schaffner said, “Yes. Thank you for those words. Don’t take it. Stay away. This is quackery. Do not take medications of any kind to either prevent this infection or to treat it that hasn’t been vetted very, very carefully by the scientific community. We don’t want to make you sick, and we don’t want to mislead you by taking something that is really no good, and then you’ll expose yourself possibly to infection, and then you will become ill. Let’s do this seriously. Let’s listen to our public health and clinical authorities about how best to approach this infection.”
Tapper said, “100%. I agree with you. I’m sorry, but every now and then, it’s like I’m broadcasting from inside the movie ‘Idiocracy,’ and I have to have experts like you point out ‘Don’t do that, don’t ingest disinfectants and the rest.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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