[johnforbes]

So says Dr Risch of the Yale School of Public Health.

He decries the politicization of any drug which could help sick people, and he notes that the FDA should rescind its prior warning about the cardiac implications of using HCQ for coronavirus because that angle is known from 66 years of prescribing .

[Clownkicker]

It isn't a "political drug," johnny.

The only people actually politicizing it are Trump supporters. No one else is.

As to scientists and doctors, they are waiting for the results of scientific studies and will prescribe it as soon as scientific studies prove its efficacy and safety and not before. Even with those studies that were abandoned because of negative preliminary results, there are still many studies being done, so don't get your panties in a bunch about it.

Until then you can spare us all your ignorant whining and politicization of HCQ. If you don't have a scientific study proving it works, then you're wasting our time.

Someone recently said "Follow the science. Don't follow the politics,..."

So I trust you will take his advice now wait for the science before opening your fat yap again, right?

[johnforbes]

Sadly, it is.

In some states, doctors are facing threats for Rxing it in certain circumstances.

Look at this forum, where the leftists hate HCQ and the conservatives say give all meds a try to help sick people.

[Clownkicker]

Look at this forum, where conservatives believe we should indiscriminately "try" "all meds" on sick people (can you grasp the immense stupidity of johnforbes saying doctors should "try" Viagra and nitroglycerin to treat coronavirus? What an imbecile.)

Meanwhile, what upsets conservatives so much is that liberals believe apolitically that we should wait for the science on any drug before doing anything that might kill people. For some reason that upsets johnforbes. (But, but... he "wishes" so hard HCQ will work. Shouldn't that be enough?)

johnforbes has said here repeatedly that we should NOT wait for scientific studies but we should (like Trump) "try" HCQ; that we should treat COVID patients with drugs that might do nothing at best and possibly kill them at worst. He simply does not want to wait for the several studies currently being done on the drug.

He won't shut up about it. He has posted again and again, insisting on politicizing HCQ without any supportive scientific results for his point of view, and he will continue to whine about it without any additional evidence for his position.

Criminy....the brains of conservatives are wastelands of magic and wished-for miracles. They must LOVE those Harry Potter books. They seem to believe they will be returning Trump to Hogwarts in the fall election.

[johnforbes]

I won't make a penny off HCQ, but might if the Gilead drug bears fruit.

It is worth wondering what role Big Pharma lobbyists played in Fauci's reaction (negative on cheap HCQ, positive on expensive and speculative remdesivir).

[Clownkicker]

johnny, it is irrelevant whether you will make money off something or won't make money off something. Who cares? You've said it over and over and it is exactly as dumb as it was the second time you said it. (And that's pretty dumb.) Droning repetition of irrelevancies doesn't make your yammering any more valid or interesting.

If a drug has scientific evidence to support it, you're free to make all the money off it that your conscience can bear.

Stop politicizing HCQ with these idiotic threads. Wait for the scientific studies before you bring it up again. Spare us your whining about how you "want" it to work or "wish" it would work.

These silly repetitious threads that include no new scientific information on HCQ add nothing to the discussion and only serve to politicize the drug.

[johnforbes]

It isn't dumb at all.

It reflects that my opinion runs counter to any financial motive.

When I mention anything about HCQ, it means that I'd like to see some Rx which would help sick people, and HCQ has been reportedly quite helpful around the globe.

Everybody knows that HCQ trials were truncated in the US by Big Pharma lobbying for the Gilead drug.

Read the old book entitled The Politics of Cancer and you'll see that medicine has always been -- sadly -- political and economic.

[divermouse]

i got it john's got dementia or has a rainbow spectrum of autism, and just can not let it go.

I don't care if regan speaking in tongues comes back with a vaccine i'll forgive him the national damage he set in play 40 years ago with ol' kemp and laffer. so take your political prejudice paranoia and float test it. dems have to many real reasons to stand against repubs actions and deeds. corona inaction, spreading fake information gives another prime example of just who you guys really are.

sorry john while i agree big pharma have profit motives and they should. the cancer drag feet appears to play. maybe you (we all) should put some effort on this. instead of a hqc dream that has largely been debunked. and yes studies are on going as we electron chat. < LOOK STILL ON GOING studies. but just like the other more promising studies, they ALL have to wait for RESULTS. i highly doubt they have a hand in trying to debunk hqc for profit. so unless you have some real facts. take a stroll down the street to "el sol", eat a vegie taco, take a breath, collect your thoughts, come back to reality quit acting like a russian operative. be constructive. is this your team really? quit! ring the bell for gods sake.

[elklindo69]

For example we have the prototypical conservative such as Gov. Parson of Missouri who wants kids to go back to school during the middle of a raging pandemic so they can study had to become scientists and doctors. So then subsequently they will have their expertise ignored by said Republicans just like Gov. Parson of Missouri.

[johnforbes]

Diver, please.

I could give away 50 IQ points to a passing stranger and still remain quite capable of dealing with your emotional lability.

As to HCQ, just look at the leftist on this forum all mounting arguments against HCQ which has helped people all over the globe.

Just yesterday, a doctor from the Yale School of Public Health was saying precisely what I've said -- that HCQ has been used for prevention globally, that it works against covid (along with zinc) by opening a cellular pathway, and that 66 years of prescribing experience mean doctors know what minor cardiac implications to be on guard for.

The FDA only placed that minor restriction on for political reasons, and it should be removed.

And Clown and Elkin should, as good leftists, be making the assertions I am.

[johnforbes]

As professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health, I have authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications and currently hold senior positions on the editorial boards of several leading journals. I am usually accustomed to advocating for positions within the mainstream of medicine, so have been flummoxed to find that, in the midst of a crisis, I am fighting for a treatment that the data fully support but which, for reasons having nothing to do with a correct understanding of the science, has been pushed to the sidelines. As a result, tens of thousands of patients with COVID-19 are dying unnecessarily. Fortunately, the situation can be reversed easily and quickly.

I am referring, of course, to the medication hydroxychloroquine. When this inexpensive oral medication is given very early in the course of illness, before the virus has had time to multiply beyond control, it has shown to be highly effective, especially when given in combination with the antibiotics azithromycin or doxycycline and the nutritional supplement zinc.

On May 27, I published an article in the American Journal of Epidemiology (AJE) entitled, "Early Outpatient Treatment of Symptomatic, High-Risk COVID-19 Patients that Should be Ramped-Up Immediately as Key to the Pandemic Crisis." That article, published in the world's leading epidemiology journal, analyzed five studies, demonstrating clear-cut and significant benefits to treated patients, plus other very large studies that showed the medication safety.

Physicians who have been using these medications in the face of widespread skepticism have been truly heroic. They have done what the science shows is best for their patients, often at great personal risk. I myself know of two doctors who have saved the lives of hundreds of patients with these medications, but are now fighting state medical boards to save their licenses and reputations. The cases against them are completely without scientific merit.

Since publication of my May 27 article, seven more studies have demonstrated similar benefit. In a lengthy follow-up letter, also published by AJE, I discuss these seven studies and renew my call for the immediate early use of hydroxychloroquine in high-risk patients. These seven studies include: an additional 400 high-risk patients treated by Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, with zero deaths; four studies totaling almost 500 high-risk patients treated in nursing homes and clinics across the U.S., with no deaths; a controlled trial of more than 700 high-risk patients in Brazil, with significantly reduced risk of hospitalization and two deaths among 334 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine; and another study of 398 matched patients in France, also with significantly reduced hospitalization risk. Since my letter was published, even more doctors have reported to me their completely successful use.

[elklindo69]

BACKGROUND
Hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin have been used to treat patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). However, evidence on the safety and efficacy of these therapies is limited.

METHODS
We conducted a multicenter, randomized, open-label, three-group, controlled trial involving hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 who were receiving either no supplemental oxygen or a maximum of 4 liters per minute of supplemental oxygen. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive standard care, standard care plus hydroxychloroquine at a dose of 400 mg twice daily, or standard care plus hydroxychloroquine at a dose of 400 mg twice daily plus azithromycin at a dose of 500 mg once daily for 7 days. The primary outcome was clinical status at 15 days as assessed with the use of a seven-level ordinal scale (with levels ranging from one to seven and higher scores indicating a worse condition) in the modified intention-to-treat population (patients with a confirmed diagnosis of Covid-19). Safety was also assessed.

RESULTS
A total of 667 patients underwent randomization; 504 patients had confirmed Covid-19 and were included in the modified intention-to-treat analysis. As compared with standard care, the proportional odds of having a higher score on the seven-point ordinal scale at 15 days was not affected by either hydroxychloroquine alone (odds ratio, 1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.69 to 2.11; P=1.00) or hydroxychloroquine plus azithromycin (odds ratio, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.57 to 1.73; P=1.00). Prolongation of the corrected QT interval and elevation of liver-enzyme levels were more frequent in patients receiving hydroxychloroquine, alone or with azithromycin, than in those who were not receiving either agent.

CONCLUSIONS
Among patients hospitalized with mild-to-moderate Covid-19, the use of hydroxychloroquine, alone or with azithromycin, did not improve clinical status at 15 days as compared with standard care. (Funded by the Coalition Covid-19 Brazil and EMS Pharma; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04322123. opens in new tab.)

[johnforbes]

We all agree we should have more and better data.

E.g., the Vanderbilt study began in April and was halted in June. Say what? It should have started in Feb and STILL be going on because we have tons of covid patients to study.

But the MD-PhD from Yale concluded that 100,000 lives could be saved with HCQ.

Use it, and use anything else which will help sick people.

Why wasn't that done?

Because Trump mentioned HCQ and Orange Man Bad....

[elklindo69]

This doctor is entitled to his opinions but he's not entitled to his own set of facts.

And the fact is that there is an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows that hydroxychloroquine does not work in treating in COVID-19. That's a scientific fact and it's why the FDA published their guidance on the proper use of hydroxychloroquine.

FDA cautions against use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine for COVID-19 outside of the hospital setting or a clinical trial due to risk of heart rhythm problems

[johnforbes]

FDA is, of course, quite wrong and should rescind that nonsense.

For the reasons set forth by the MD-PhD from Yale.

[Clownkicker]

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[johnforbes]

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[elklindo69]

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