A new French study indicates that Hydroxychloroquine, the drug that President Trump has been pushing as a cure for COVID-19, is ineffective in treating patients with virus-caused pneumonia and requiring oxygen.
The study, involved collected data from 4 French hospitals. It included 181 patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Eighty-four patients received Hydroxychloroquine within 48 hours of admission and 97 patients did not. There was no difference in whether or not the patients who received the drug ended up in ICU or not.
The study says, “The results do not support the use of HCQ (hydrochloroquine) in patients hospitalized for documented SARS-CoV-2-positive hypoxic pneumonia. (COVID-19 pneumonia.)
The downside of using the drug can be found in the fine print.
Finally, HCQ blocks the KCNH2-encoded hERG/Kv11.1 potassium channel and can potentially prolong the QTc, with potential severe consequences such as sudden cardiac death and cardiac arrhythmia. Besides QTc prolongations, we observed 2 other significant cardiologic events in this study, and the French national drug agency has reported 3 deaths potentially related to HCQ since its promotion to the public as a potential treatment for COVID-19. Although HCQ was considered safe in the context of SLE, these adverse events may be explained by the use of high-dose HCQ in elderly patients with renal impairment and frequent drug interactions. Accordingly, the negative clinical results of this study argue against the widespread use of HCQ in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. (emphasis mine)
The potential for harm is especially important, given that the President of the United States has been hyping this drug. His stooge press has been following along behind him, hyping the drug also.
Meanwhile, his faithful followers have been brainlessly passing around stories reporting unsubstantiated miraculous “cures” by the drug. This encourages people to hoard the drug and take it without medical supervision, which raises the possibility of them killing themselves with it.
The bottom line, which I’ve said before and will say again as many times as necessary, is that President Trump has been totally, absolutely and almost criminally irresponsible to stand up at his press conferences and promote this drug. I think he did it because he wanted a diversion from his blatant, historic incompetence in handling this crisis and the outright lies he told to the American public about the threat COVID-19 represented early on.
I don’t think he cares if Americans die because of his actions.
I want to make the point once again that the much-hated mainstream media is who saved us from this presidential hoax.
From CNN:
(CNN)A drug that’s been touted by President Donald Trump as a “game changer” didn’t help hospitalized patients with coronavirus and was associated with heart complications, according to a new study.
“This provides evidence that hydroxychloroquine does not apparently treat patients with Covid 19,” said Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Even worse, there were side effects caused by the drug — heart toxicities that required it be discontinued.”
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In