Fauci and Navarro get into 'confrontation' over potential coronavirus treatment: Report

A White House Coronavirus Task Force meeting reportedly devolved into a "confrontation" over the potential use of antimalarial drugs to treat the coronavirus.

"Drama erupted" between economic adviser Peter Navarro and the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci during a task force meeting in the Situation Room on Saturday, according to a Sunday report from Axios.

The incident began when Commissioner of Food and Drugs Stephen Hahn started discussing hydroxychloroquine as a possible "game-changer" in the fight against the COVID-19 virus. Navarro then began passing out folders of data on the drug.

"And the first words out of his mouth are that the studies that he's seen, I believe they're mostly overseas, show 'clear therapeutic efficacy,'" a source familiar with the conversation said. "Those are the exact words out of his mouth."

Fauci, however, pushed back against the claim, saying the evidence of the drug's effectiveness in treating the coronavirus was just anecdotal and that more data is needed. According to another source, Navarro pointed to the folders and said to Fauci, "That's science, not anecdote."

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