Rita Wilson revealed that she had been prescribed chloroquine to help treat her COVID-19 virus symptoms and warned that the drug gave her “extreme” side effects.
Wilson, along with her husband Tom Hanks, announced that they contracted the coronavirus and were quarantined in Australia last month. As part of her treatment, she was prescribed chloroquine, an anti-malarial medication that has shown signs of treating the illness despite limited evidence.
In a Tuesday interview with CBS This Morning, the actress explained that she couldn’t be certain as to whether the drug was responsible for her recovery but did attribute negative side effects she suffered to it.
“My fever did break, but the chloroquine had such extreme side effects,” Wilson said. “I was completely nauseous, and I had vertigo. I could not walk, and my muscles felt very weak. I think people have to be very considerate about that drug. We don’t really know if it’s helpful.”
President Trump and other members of his administration have praised two anti-malarial drugs that have shown signs of treating the coronavirus. However, medical experts on the White House Coronavirus Task Force have been more hesitant. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, downplayed its success, arguing that there is no “strong” evidence that the drug can treat the COVID-19 virus.
Hanks and Wilson were two of the first celebrities or politicians to be diagnosed with the virus.
