Posted on 08/16/2020 8:06:09 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
Bill Gates this week added more flame to the fire in the ongoing debate over the usage of hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, claiming that using the drug to treat the coronavirus carries with it the risk of "severe side effects" and arguing that medical officials should instead pursue the numerous "good therapeutic drugs" currently in development.
Yet there is at present little evidence that "severe side effects" are common in COVID-19 patients who take hydroxychloroquine, with the majority of reported adverse events being relatively mild and only a small fraction of reported effects so far being dangerous and/or fatal.
The drug, which has been used for years to treat malaria and other conditions like lupus, has been at the center of a medical and political firestorm since March when President Trump touted the medicine as a possible effective treatment for coronavirus. Numerous medical officials have claimed that it offers no benefit to COVID-19 patients, while others have insisted that it is highly effective when used in certain circumstances, specifically on high-risk patients early in the course of the disease.
Asked by Bloomberg magazine about the controversy on Thursday, Gates—who has been at the forefront of funding and advocacy efforts to find both a cure and a vaccine for COVID-19—said that though we live "in age of science ... sometimes it doesn’t feel that way."
"In the test tube, hydroxychloroquine looked good," he said. "On the other hand, there are lots of good therapeutic drugs coming that are proven to work without the severe side effects."
Studies do not show major prevalence of severe side effects
Numerous studies across the world over the past several months have produced mixed results on the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19, with some showing marked benefits and others indicating that it does not help patients recover from the disease.
Yet regardless of study outcomes, severe adverse health events associated with the drug appear to be comparatively rare.
One randomized trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this month stated that, while the study's treatment with hydroxychloroquine "did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection," there were nevertheless "no serious intervention-related adverse reactions or cardiac arrhythmias" reported by study participants.
"Nausea, loose stools, and abdominal discomfort were the most common side effects," the researchers stated. A study out of England in July similarly found "no excess of new major cardiac arrhythmia" among patients treated with the drug.
Another study released in July stated that diarrhea, abdominal pain and vomiting were the most common side effects; as with the study released in August, researchers stated that "no serious adverse events attributable to the study drug occurred." A study earlier this year out of Marseille, France, said that all adverse effects observed in the HCQ trial "were mild and included mostly gastrointestinal symptoms," though they did report cardiac issues in a few dozen patients out of 3,737.
One study published in May, in contrast, found an increased risk of cardiac arrhythmias among COVID-19 patients taking the drug. The Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, has said it has received reports of "serious heart-related adverse events and death" in patients taking the medicine.
Harvey Risch—a Yale epidemiologist who has been highly vocal in his advocacy of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment for certain patients—acknowledged that the drug can indeed cause fatal cardiac issues, but he argued the risks were very small compared to what he said were the potential benefits of the drug.
"The main 'side effects' are [gastrointestinal] disturbances especially at higher doses," he told Just the News. "About 10% of users of 400mg/day may have slight nausea or some diarrhea. It is manageable over a 5-7 day course."
"The serious side effect is fatal cardiac arrhythmia," he said, but he argued that data indicate it is expected to occur in about 9 users per 100,000, a number he argued "must be compared" to the many more deaths he claimed the drug could prevent.
The Food and Drug Administration did not respond to queries on Friday seeking comment on the matter. The Gates Foundation also did not respond to queries on Friday asking for clarification on the "severe" adverse events to which Gates was referring.
>>A helicopter was flying around above Seattle when an electrical malfunction disabled all of the aircraft’s electronic navigation and communications qquipment. Due to the clouds and haze, the pilot could not determine the helicopter’s position and course to fly to the airport. The pilot saw a tall building, flew toward it, circled, drew a handwritten sign, and held it in the helicopter’s window. The pilot’s sign said “WHERE AM I?” in large letters. People in the tall building quickly responded to the aircraft, drew a large sign and held it in a building window. Their sign read: “YOU ARE IN A HELICOPTER.” The pilot smiled, waved, looked at her map, determined the course to steer to SEATAC airport, and landed safely. After they were on the ground, the co-pilot asked the pilot how the “YOU ARE IN A HELICOPTER” sign helped determine their position. The pilot responded “I knew that had to be the Microsoft building because, like their technical support, online help and product documentation, the response they gave me was technically correct, but completely useless.”<<
All drugs have severe side effects on a small percentage of users. All drugs.
Severe side effects for Big Pharma and associated grifters.
How much longer will the American people be pushed around and bullied by unelected scum?
If those side effects are so common and toxic, why has the FDA not put Black Box warning on it?
Bill Gates: The failed CEO of a company that couldn’t produce a version of Windows in almost 40 years that wasn’t a hackers delight now wants to use his inherent knowledge to tell the world how to cure viruses.
If Gates is against hydroxychloroquine, his real motives are not good.
He is not stupid.
This icehole needs to get the ‘Rona real good and a bottle of HCQ placed in front of him or the choice to wait for a “cure”. Maybe sh*t for brains would wait and the world would be a better place when this tool kicks the bucket.
The same can be said of water.
It did not cause deaths. It was administered to people already at huge risk of death from other causes.
This just in from DR Bill Gates.
Definitely an expert on viruses.
If there is an approved therapy, Big Pharma cannot get Emergency Use Approval for a vaccine.
A lot of money riding on this. People’s lives be damned!
Chemotherapy has severe side effects ALMOST ALWAYS, so it should be banned, right, Bill?
Open letter to Dr. Anthony Fauci regarding the use of Hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 (Authored by Three Doctors)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3874847/posts
My thought exactly.
Imagine the SchiffStorm if you were to ask the CEO (whatever) of the AMA to PUBLICLY give tech advice on Microsoft etc.
Like asking the manager of the Baseball team what his thoughts are when it comes to tracking serial killers..
(I know all the ‘experts’ have their own sense of importance BUT to expect us to listen to them is another matter and the ‘Press’ shouldn’t be pushing them)
I like it when R Limbaugh tells his audience to not try and read something on the air etc as it takes training etc and then turn around and lecture us on whatever happens to pop into his head AND I do realize a lot of what he may say is ‘spoofing’ but.....
AlGates is, he’s like a god, he knows all, ALL!”
I wonder if he knows how I can get rid of the blue screen of death on my XP laptop. I’d like to use the Windows XP Sound Recorder.
That’s beyond even his omnipotence!
Every freakin’ prescription drug out there, for even the most mundane condition, has the potential for severe side effects!
At least HCQ can save your life!
By the way, whatever happened to “Right to Try?”
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