Posted on 03/19/2020 10:51:44 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved hydroxychloroquinea drug used to treat malaria, rheumatic diseases and other conditionsfor COVID-19.
As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world, scientists are scrambling to identify treatments that may be effective against the disease. Hydroxychloroquinea common derivative of chloroquineis among those touted as most promising by some experts.
"The nice part is, it's been around for a long time, so we know that if things don't go as planned its not going to kill anybody," Trump told reporters at a press conference. "When you go with a brand new drug, you don't know if that's going to happen. Its shown very very encouraging early results and we're going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately."
But how effective is the drug? This week, researcher Didier Raoult from Aix-Marseille University in France, one of the main proponents for using hydroxychloroquine to treat infection with the novel coronavirusknown as SARS-CoV-2released encouraging results of a preliminary trial involving a total of 36 COVID-19 patients.
According to a draft paperwhich has not yet been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journalsix of these patients were asymptomatic, 22 had upper respiratory tract infection symptoms and eight had lower respiratory tract infection symptoms.
Between early and mid-March, Raoult and his team treated 20 of these patients with 600 milligrams of hydroxychloroquine daily in a hospital setting. Depending on their symptoms, an antibiotic known as azithromycin was also added to the treatments. This antibiotic is known to be effective against complications from bacterial lung disease. The 16 remaining patients were not given the drug as a control.
In the study, the scientists observed a "significant" reduction in viral load in the patients treated with hydroxychloroquine,
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
It’s a chemically modified form of quinine.
That’s where the Quine comes from in the name.
I shouldn’t say this, but, now there will be a run on tonic water. It probably couldn’t hurt as a prophylactic.
Yup.
Got mine early this morning - the tonic water, that is.
Ordered some bark supplements from Amazon this morning also.
Mrs Afterguard and I are currently in and around the pool and she is on her second vodka tonic (which contains quinine) and she agrees with your post. Except for the gin part.
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March 19,2020
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn:
"We need to make sure that this sea of new treatments -- we'll get the right drug to the right patient at the right dosage at the right time," he said, explaining that the right drug may be available but it may not be in the right dosage, "and that may do more harm than good."
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/19/politics/trump-fda-anti-viral-treatments-coronavirus/index.html
Cautiously optimistic. I have read the science and the achilles heel of this virus is the way it enters and exits cells and the quinine blocks that hormone\mechanism. I am sure there are a dozen universities in double blinds right now just in this country alone. If it's really even 75% effective, that means this thing WAS a tempest in a teapot. We live as a nation to fight another day.,
I should add that I’m a rummy, myself.
Unless it is specifically approved for coronavirus your insurance will not cover it in most cases. When I had the stroke one of my high cost heart meds was due for renewal, but someone fouled up the paperwork and it appeared that it had been prescribed for the stroke. So it was denied as an unapproved drug.
Took several calls, including one from my cardiologist to get it corrected.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn needs a “come to Jesus meeting” with President Trump...
I have two 100 capsule azithromycin scrips and one 100 capsule quinine scrip in my med box. Someone is looking out for me and mine
See the demons at the FDA stepping into quash any hopes a quick cure? Like the evil demons they are, they want to study and study and study something. Cut down half the trees in Oregon to write papers and peer review and have video conferences and talk, talk, talk. What do they care, they can take the drugs if they get sick while the rest of us panic, while they dodder. I say if the FDA guy stalls he needs to be removed pronto. He's a hack and an incompetent. Maybe if a Big Pharma firm bought his wife another set of silicon fakies he'd fast track it,...wink, wink. Corrupt swamp. Trump had to know the FDA was going to be the problem not the fix here. They are terrible.
Here’s a plug for a real fine reporter today that actually provides timely and very useful news and information, Paul Sperry:
From 10 days ago
BREAKTHROUGH: Chloroquine phosphate —
https://mobile.twitter.com/paulsperry_/status/1237068715314892802
I don’t think “FDA Approved” is exactly correct.
I believe the FDA has approved the use of the drug in trials.
THis is still great news, because as of march 16, we had 508 people in hospitals, and 121 people in ICU, for the virus, so we have enough people to run a study with various dosages, and see what might be effective.
There was a second drug in the mix for France, and maybe we could get that approved for trial as well.
If we can cut hospital stays from 14 days to 6 days, it’s like doubling the number of beds available.
Hydrox Cookies are probably sold out by now. Oreos are next.
THIS WAS PAUL SPERRY’s TWEET:
Paul Sperry
@paulsperry_
BREAKTHROUGH: Chloroquine phosphate — an old anti-malaria drug — has shown apparent efficacy in treatment of COVID-19 associated pneumonia in clinical studies. Chloroquine provides both anti-viral and anti-inflammatory benefits to patients
1:32 PM · Mar 9, 2020·Twitter Web App
Misleading title.
RE: There was a second drug in the mix for France, and maybe we could get that approved for trial as well.
SEE HERE (page 3 of the study ):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/186Bel9RqfsmEx55FDum4xY_IlWSHnGbj/view
Azithromycin added to hydroxychloroquine was significantly more efficient for virus elimination.
Made in several countries (including India and China) and the EU but not in the USA. Good news is a lot of manufacturers have active Drug Master Files (DMF) which means it can be sold in the USA. Without a DMF it could not be sold as an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API).
I swear, they foul the paperwork intentionally in the hopes that the patient doesn’t notice, doesn’t care or just gives up and pays out of pocket. I call it the Insurance DOS gambit. I am sure it works in a percentage of cases and they know exactly what the ROI versus the cost of paper shuffling for those that fight.
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