Around 1,300 coronavirus patients have been given the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). According to a document released by a Senate Democrat on Friday, a study showed that the drug includes an increased risk of death.

After receiving the information from the VA in response to questions he submitted on the issue, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he was “deeply troubled” by the data.

Despite the evidence that the treatment could be fatal, President Donald Trump has been insisting on using hydroxychloroquine against coronavirus and recently said he has been taking it himself.

On Friday, a study published in the medical journal Lancet tied the drug to an increased risk of death in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

Doctors at VA also said in April that hydroxychloroquine did not help COVID-19 patients and could lead to a higher risk of death.

The VA said that about 1,300 coronavirus patients who have been given the drug are among over 10,000 coronavirus patients it has treated. Around 7,500 patients with other conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, have also been supplied with hydroxychloroquine.

The VA also said that it would continue to supply the drug under the Food and Drug Administration guidelines.

The VA clarified when questioned by Schumer that it was not pressured by the White House, Department of Health and Human Services, or any other federal agency into using hydroxychloroquine.

The VA said, “VA, like so many medical facilities across this nation, is in a race to keep patients alive during this pandemic, and we are using as many tools as we can.”