More On: Coronavirus
Joe Biden Tests Positive for Wuhan Coronavirus Again
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers Fined for Violating COVID-19 Protocols
Shailene Woodley Defends Aaron Amid Rumored COVID-19 Quarantine Outings
Howard Stern: Aaron Rodgers Should Be Fired for 'Bulls--t' Vaccine Comments
Emilio Estevez Denies Being Anti-Vax After Exiting 'Mighty Ducks' Series
A controversial drug heralded by some as a coronavirus cure comes with symptoms of its own, Rita Wilson says. The actress, 63, says she was given chloroquine after she and husband Tom Hanks tested positive for COVID-19 while in Australia last month. The malaria treatment may or may not have helped her beat the virus, …
A controversial drug heralded by some as a coronavirus cure comes with symptoms of its own, Rita Wilson says.
The actress, 63, says she was given chloroquine after she and husband Tom Hanks tested positive for COVID-19 while in Australia last month. The malaria treatment may or may not have helped her beat the virus, but it certainly gave her “extreme side effects,” she tells Gayle King on Tuesday’s “CBS This Morning.”
After getting the chloroquine, Wilson became “completely nauseous” and experienced vertigo and weakened muscles, she warns.
“We have to be very considerate about this drug,” she says. “We don’t know if it’s safe in this case.”
Despite thousands of seriously ill coronavirus patients being treated with a newer version of the drug called hydroxychloroquine, federal agencies stockpiling it and individuals claiming the drug saved them from the coronavirus, significant testing is still required before it can be deemed safe.
Groups of doctors have called it the most effective coronavirus treatment, but in some cases, it may treat the disease only to prove independently lethal: Researchers called off a small Brazilian study of the drug on Monday after participants experienced potentially fatal heart complications.
Wilson and Hanks were among the first Hollywood elites to announce they’d tested positive for the coronavirus, and have since recovered and returned home to the US.
Hanks, 63, appeared on a remote version of “Saturday Night Live” from his home this month.
Wilson’s other coronavirus symptoms included being “very tired, extremely achy, uncomfortable, didn’t want to be touched.” She says she also suffered from the loss of her senses of taste and smell, getting the chills and a 102-degree fever. Hanks did not experience the loss of taste and smell or the high fever, she tells King.
Since recovering, both have donated blood to a study in hope that their antibodies can be used to develop a vaccine.
