A decades-old malaria medicine touted by the president as a coronavirus treatment showed no benefit for thousands of patients hospitalized in New York. [...]

Previous trials had suggested the drug can cause serious heart problems, especially when paired with azithromycin, and the latest study backed up those findings. Researchers said that patients receiving both drugs together were more likely to experience cardiac arrest than those who received one or neither of the therapies.

The FDA authorized emergency use of the drug against the coronavirus in March, despite sparse evidence that it could work.