Over the last month there has been a lot of discussion regarding CoVid-19 and hydroxychloroquine, the drug used for malaria, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
As the CoVid-19 virus spread across the world some nations and governments have been using this drug to treat their patients.
But it wasn’t until President Trump brought it up, at one of the Health Task Force news conferences, that this drug came to national attention here in America.
And the reaction to President Trump linking CoVid-19 and hydroxychloroquine as been mixed.
While President Trump has been extremely enthusiastic about the potential of this drug to save lives, the news media has not. Here are some of their March headlines when President Trump first mentioned this drug:
Why President Trump is at odds with his medical experts over using malaria drugs against Covid-19
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Malaria Drug Chloroquine No Better Than Regular Coronavirus Care, Study Finds
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There’s scant evidence so far for chloroquine as a COVID-19 drug — but there’s already a shortage
Click Here to read the article
And it continues even today with the news media bashing President Trump, and those who support his position, about the medical use of hydroxychloroquine for CoVid-19.
I thought it would be helpful to cut through the headlines, and agendas, and try to get to the facts about CoVid 19 and hydroxychloroquine. Whether it’s effective in helping people with this deadly virus or not.
Just recently the FDA has given an emergency-use authorization to chloroquine-based products to expand access to these drugs during the CoVid-19 health crisis. This emergency-use authorization allows patients with CoVid-19 to have discussions with their attending physicians about using these types of drugs to treat their illness.
While this doesn’t mean that the chloroquine-based drugs will prove to be effective, it does mean that there is enough information to cause the FDA and the Health Task Force to see this as a potential help in the prevention and recovery from this deadly virus.
Here are three headlines from scientific journals regarding the use of this drug for the treatment of CoVid-19:
Results from a Controlled Trial of Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19
This study came out of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, China. It was a randomized study of 62 patients with half receiving a placebo and the other half taking 200 mg of hydroxychloroquine twice per day for 5 days.
According to Dr. Zhan Zhang, one of the lead researchers, “The data in this study revealed that after 5 days of hydroxychloroquine treatment, the symptoms of patients with COVID-19 were significantly relieved, manifesting as shorten(ing) in the recovery time for cough and fever.”
Those taking the hydroxychloroquine had a return to normal body temperature and cessation of cough one day faster then those in the placebo group.
It has been reported in the news that 4 patients had adverse results during the study. This is true but the 4 patients were in the placebo group.
UW treating COVID-19 patients with antimalarial drug — researcher calls it ‘very promising’
Researchers and physicians at the University of Washington in Seattle have been treating patients with CoVid-19 with hydroxychloroquine. According to Professor Rodney Ho, “There are certain stages of this disease when the drug may be helpful.” But he acknowledges that more research needs to be done in this area.
Which brings me to the final headline:
Penn Launches Trial to Evaluate Hydroxychloroquine to Treat, Prevent COVID-19
The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania is launching three trials to examine:
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If hydroxychloroquine reduces hospital time.
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If hydroxychloroquine reduces recover time at home
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If hydroxychloroquine can help prevent medical workers from contracting the disease.
We’ll have to wait for these trials to conclude to see if this drug can be effective in the treatment and prevention of CoVid-19.
CoVid-19 and hydroxychloroquine will continue to get attention from both the news media and the medical profession. One thing is clear. It has potential. And that potential needs to be discussed between the patient and the treating physician.
Before I close I’ll leave you with a recent interview conducted by Dr. Oz regarding this controversy
U.S. Doctor Shares New Results Of How Covid-19 Patients Are Doing On Hydroxychloroquine
Hopefully this information will help you and your loved ones have a better understanding of this drug. Especially if anyone gets infected with the CoVid-19 virus and needs medical attention.
Blessing Lives Through Nitric Oxide Therapy!
Dan Hammer
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