asmPolitics-357 [Paul Egan, Karen Whitsett]

LANSING — A Democratic state representative from Detroit is crediting hydroxychloroquine — and Republican President Donald Trump who touted the drug — for saving her in her battle with the coronavirus.

State Rep. Karen Whitsett, who learned Monday she has tested positive for COVID-19, said she started taking hydroxychloroquine on March 31, prescribed by her doctor, after both she and her husband sought treatment for a range of symptoms on March 18.

"It was less than two hours" before she started to feel relief, said Whitsett, who had experienced shortness of breath, swollen lymph nodes, and what felt like a sinus infection. She is still experiencing headaches, she said.

Whitsett said she was familiar with "the wonders" of hydroxychloroquine from an earlier bout with Lyme disease, but does not believe she would have thought to ask for it, or her doctor would have prescribed it, had Trump not been touting it as a possible treatment for COVID-19.

Trump, at his daily coronavirus briefings, has repeatedly touted the drug in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin, despite criticism from health professionals that it is unproven and potentially dangerous. There have also been complaints that Trump's remarks have resulted in a shortage of the drug for those people who normally use it for its recommended purposes.

But Whitsett said Trump's comments helped in her case.

"It has a lot to do with the president ... bringing it up," Whitsett said. "He is the only person who has the power to make it a priority."

Asked if she thinks Trump may have saved her life, Whitsett said: "Yes, I do," and "I do thank him for that."

Hydroxychloroquine is used to prevent and treat malaria and also used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, among other ailments.

Whitsett said she has been taking it in combination with antibiotics.

Whitsett said her husband works as an engineer at Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the couple believes he was exposed at work. He is still awaiting the results of his COVID-19 test, she said.

She's also lost people close to her through COVID-19 — a fellow Detroit lawmaker and a member of the clergy, among others — and said the entire experience has been scary.

"This is a very uncertain time," she said. "As a lawmaker, I want to be sure, but I'm not always sure."

Among her symptoms was an inability to comfortably bend her head down to look at her phone, she said.

"There have been pandemics before, so we do know that there will be an end to it."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is no specific treatment for COVID-19. Those with mild symptoms are advised to stay home, self-isolate, get lots of rest, and stay hydrated. Those with severe symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, should seek medical treatment, the CDC says.

Whitsett, a freshman lawmaker, was a community activist in Detroit before her election.

She said too many people in Detroit are still not taking the virus seriously, and that needs to change.

"I see it in my own community — not being quarantined and still having house parties," she said.

Asked what she thinks of Trump's handling of the pandemic more generally, Whitsett said she credits Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's relationship with Trump for helping to get the city what it needs to fight the virus.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.  Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.  

asmPolitics-356 [Karen Whitsett]

A Detroit, Mich., branch of the Democratic Party plans to censure state representative Karen Whitsett (D., Detroit) after she met with President Trump earlier this month and praised him for recommending the anti-viral drug hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for coronavirus.

Whitsett contracted coronavirus in March and has since recovered. The freshman lawmaker credited hydroxychloroquine, a medication touted by Trump and other U.S. officials as a possible therapeutic for coronavirus, with saving her life.

“Thank you for everything that you have done,” Whitsett told Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on April 14. “I did not know that saying thank you had a political line…I thought just saying thank you meant ‘thank you.'”

The potential benefits of hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus patients have not yet been confirmed by medical studies, however state governors including New York’s Andrew Cuomo have allowed doctors to use the medication if they choose.

However, Detroit’s 13th Congressional District Democratic Party plans to censure Whitsett and withhold any future endorsements of the lawmaker for breaking protocol by meeting the president. Whitsett also has a history of statements and actions that have bucked the party apparatus, sometimes making negative statements about the party and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.

“At the end of the day, we have political systems,” 13th District chairman Jonathan Kinloch said. “We have political parties, and political parties exist for a reason…[representatives] belong to the members and precinct delegates of the Democratic Party.”

The 13th District summoned Whitsett for a screening of possible State House candidates in the district on Sunday, but Whitsett refused to attend.

“I don’t have time for politics,” Whitsett said. “That’s ridiculous, during a pandemic, that they think I have time for a screening…I have people that need me.” The lawmaker said she has been handing out food and cleaning supplies to people in her district since her recovery.