Posted on 01/04/2021 6:59:04 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Although coronavirus vaccines are now being rolled out, it will be months before most people have access to them. In the meantime, information about which treatments for COVID-19 are effective and safe is crucial.
Below is a list of treatments for COVID-19 that have received considerable media attention in the last year. This list describes the latest state of the research on these treatments and which governmental organizations approve the treatment.
Remdesivir: Remdesivir is an anti-viral drug that is given intravenously. Two randomized controlled trials found that the drug improved the outcomes for patients hospitalized for COVID-19. In October, the Food and Drug Administration approved remdesivir as a treatment for COVID-19.
However, the World Health Organization also ran randomized controlled trials on remdesivir and found that it had no effect on COVID-19. In November, the WHO recommended against remdesivir as a treatment.
President Trump, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and actor Mel Gibson took remdesivir when they tested positive for the coronavirus.
Baricitinib: A drug originally marketed to treat rheumatoid arthritis, in November, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for baricitinib as a treatment for COVID-19. An emergency use authorization allows the FDA to approve the use of a treatment during an emergency without the same level of evidence that would fully establish its effectiveness and safety.
However, the FDA did not authorize baricitinib to be used as a stand-alone treatment. It must be used in combination with remdesivir. The FDA based its decision on the results of one randomized controlled trial of over 1,000 patients. That study found that patients using baricitinib with remdesivir had a recovery time one day shorter and a 30% chance of improved clinical status after 15 days than did patients who received a placebo.
Bamlanivimab: Bamlanivimab is a monoclonal antibody produced by Eli Lilly to treat COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins developed in a laboratory that are designed to mimic the way the immune system attacks a pathogen. One randomized controlled trial has found that bamlanivimab reduced the amount of the coronavirus and symptoms in outpatients. It also slightly reduced the number of patients who had to be hospitalized or go to the emergency room. Yet this was only phase two of the trial. A larger phase three needs to be conducted before the full safety and efficacy of the treatment can be determined.
That was enough for the FDA to issue an emergency use authorization for bamlanivimab as a treatment for COVID-19 in November. In response to the FDA’s action, the National Institutes of Health later released a statement saying at present, "there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of bamlanivimab for the treatment of outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19."
Christie received a dose of bamlanivimab when he fell ill with COVID-19 in October.
REGN-COV2: This treatment is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies, casirivimab and imdevimab, produced by Regeneron. In September, Regeneron released preliminary findings of 275 patients and found that the treatment had reduced the amount of the coronavirus in outpatients. Regeneron released more data in October of 524 patients that showed that the amount of the coronavirus in outpatients who received REGN-COV2 dropped by tenfold when compared to patients who received a placebo. A larger trial of REGN-COV2 is ongoing.
In November, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for REGN-COV2 as a treatment for COVID-19 in outpatients. However, the NIH released a statement saying there was not yet sufficient data to recommend REGN-COV2 as a treatment for COVID-19.
Trump received a dose of REGN-COV2 when he fell ill in October.
Convalescent plasma: This is plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19 and then infused into a patient who is suffering from the virus. In theory, convalescent plasma contains antibodies that can fight the infection. In August, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for convalescent plasma. However, the evidence supporting convalescent plasma is weak, leading the NIH to disagree with the FDA’s decision.
A Mayo Clinic study of 35,000 patients found a lower death rate among COVID-19 patients given convalescent plasma within three days of diagnosis versus those who were given it after four days or more. Yet the study lacked a control group, so it is unclear if the lower death rate was caused by the treatment or other factors. A Chinese study found positive results for convalescent plasma but only had 10 patients in the study. A larger Chinese study of 103 patients found no positive impact.
Corticosteroids: These types of steroids have been used for years to treat autoimmune diseases. A trial in the United Kingdom found COVID-19 patients treated with one type of corticosteroid, dexamethasone, had a slightly lower death rate than patients who were not treated with it. It seemed to work particularly well for patients who needed a ventilator.
Additionally, a meta-analysis of seven randomized trials found that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who took a corticosteroid had a lower death rate than those who did not. At present, though, neither the FDA nor the WHO recommends corticosteroids as a treatment for COVID-19.
Trump received dexamethasone for his bout with COVID-19.
Ivermectin: Ivermectin is an anti-parasite drug that has shown promise in the laboratory as a treatment that can reduce the amount of the coronavirus. But research in the laboratory conducted on cell cultures is quite different than actually testing it on human beings. A journal article reviewing the laboratory research concluded that the doses of ivermectin used in the laboratories were too large to be used safely in humans.
But a group of physicians calling themselves the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance has released a review of the research on invermectin as a treatment in actual COVID-19 patients. Much of the research involves using safe dosages in randomized controlled trials. The overall results are promising, showing that those who took invermectin had a shorter duration of symptoms. But critics have attacked those studies for having small sample sizes that can lead to biased outcomes.
As of now, neither the FDA nor the WHO recommends ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment.
Hydroxychloroquine: This is another drug that was given an emergency use authorization by the FDA to treat COVID-19. When the FDA gave the authorization in March, it based it on limited research done in a laboratory and anecdotal clinical data. In July, the FDA revoked hydroxychloroquine’s emergency use authorization as more data showed that it was not effective at treating COVID-19.
Hydroxychloroquine is an anti-malarial drug that is also used to treat rheumatoid arthritis. This drug has created a great deal of controversy since Trump said in March that he was taking it as a preventive measure. Most of the research published since then shows that hydroxychloroquine has no benefit for coronavirus patients. Trump did not take it when he fell ill with COVID-19 in October.
The jury may still be out, as two recent randomized controlled trials did find some benefit when hydroxychloroquine was combined with zinc. But the sample sizes for both of those studies are small, and as of now, neither the FDA nor the WHO recommends the drug as a treatment for COVID-19.
bttt
[[AMA), in a surprising move, has officially rescinded a previous statement against the use of Hydroxychloroquine ]]
Yeah but people l ike cuomo and ilk haven’t recinded their EO’s against it
bbb
“Vit D, Vit C, Quercetin, zinc, melatonin. You can get this stuff on your own,”
Saudi Arabia has been running trials using Zinc, Quercetin, Bromelain and Vitamin C. I’d definitely add Vit D3 to their list.
Quercetin is a zinc ionophore, as is HCQ. If the ionophore action is what makes HCQ effective then quercetin could be an effective substitute. And unlike HCQ, quercetin is a food product available from some vitamin suppliers as well as the produce aisle of your grocery store.
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04468139
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7558363/
More info on various treatments:
A proposal was made by Georgia physicians to rescind. The national body voted it down and reiterated their previous stance against it.
RE: The national body voted it down and reiterated their previous stance against it.
What is this national body composed of? Are they physicians or infectious disease experts?
RE: I went to push health and a nurse practitioner prescribed me Ivermectin for a two month supply.. no questions asked.
Not even asking if you were diagnosed to be CoVid-19 positive?
For what it is worth, my relative was on her 10th day of symptoms of COVID-19 when she started taking the “HCQ Trump cocktail”. The next day her fever and diarrhea was gone and the day after that her oxygen level was almost normal.
She said that she thinks she would have been on a ventilator within a few days if she had not taken the cocktail. Only the top of her lungs were compromised yet and she said the HCQ cocktail might not have worked if it had progressed to the bottom of her lungs.
bookmark
Right after POTUS Trump first mentioned HCQ, I know someone who found a way to bypass doctors & prescriptions, and get it and Zpak from someplace overseas, and stocked up for his extended family in case they needed it. So far, I don’t think anyone’s needed it. Although I’ve known fewer than 10 people in my area (supposedly a hot spot at various times) who ever got only mild cases of Covid from which they easily recovered, and nobody at present, I bought some of the horse paste Ivermectin to keep on hand, simply because it was only $6 at Amazon.
When I first read recommendations of zinc, quercetin, NAC, vitamin C & D3 for prevention, I was very happy because I’d already been taking them all (and much more) in my daily supplement regiman for decades. Maybe that’s why I’ve never gotten the flu or any of the viruses that people seem to pass around. I don’t want anything to do with drugs, covid vaccines, flu shots, etc. Can’t remember last time I saw a doctor; it was probably my pediatrician, and I’m a senior citizen now. I did feel a cold coming on one time about 6 years ago, but quashed it in about 16 hours with colloidal silver. (I make my own, and give it away to my friends).
“Apparently, after several months of observation, it is looking like Ivermectin comes out ahead of HCQ in terms of effectivity. Ivermectin ( like HCQ ) has to be used with a cocktail for maximum effectiveness.
See here:”
BUT when all you have is a tube of Apple Horse paste ivermectin, how much paste is an equivalent dose to that linked protocol???
I believe it’s AMA’s delegate body, consisting of doctors from around the country.
Here’s more detail on the final result:
https://www.ama-assn.org/system/files/2020-12/nov-s20-resolutions.pdf
Page 20
Ok. Problem is I bet my doctor would never prescribe HCQ or some of those other helpful things.
Good info, re: Saudi Arabia. I heard about Quercetin from Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai. I like that it is a natural product, from fruit. Sure can’t hurt you. I think vit D, C and zinc are vital to the immune system. So is FRESH AIR and sunlight...and dirt, and virus particles. I really worry about our once great nation...hiding inside our homes, wearing a mask over our faces when we are in public, keeping our elders in jail, away from their loved ones. This has got to change, quickly or we won’t have anything worth preserving.
If you get covid try myfreedoctor.com
Its legitimate. You pay what you can afford. You have to download medici app. If walmart pharmacy is in your network for insurance try using them
If you have no insurance try goodrx savings code to see prices
Tractor Supply still has ivermectin in the horse meds area. My local store has signs all over saying WARNING! WARNING! Not for human Wuhan flu! I would rather get the pills from a doctor, but I’m thinking I’ll spend the $40 and buy some, just in case. Pathetic that our once great nation has devolved into us having to figure this crap out, on our own....
"Bamlanivimab: Bamlanivimab is a monoclonal antibody produced by Eli Lilly to treat COVID-19. Monoclonal antibodies are proteins developed in a laboratory that are designed to mimic the way the immune system attacks a pathogen. "
There is simply no "evidence" in these words at all. The word "mimic' is very vague, and is hardly a scientific term, so no real information is conveyed, either.
"One randomized controlled trial has found that bamlanivimab reduced the amount of the coronavirus and symptoms in outpatients. It also slightly reduced the number of patients who had to be hospitalized or go to the emergency room. Yet this was only phase two of the trial. A larger phase three needs to be conducted before the full safety and efficacy of the treatment can be determined."
No "evidence is given. Evidence would include information about who conducted the trial, and actual numbers on the outcomes. The word "slightly" is biased and clearly not factual. Real data would provide facts, not opinion. The word "yet" also conveys bias and is intended to produce doubt in the reader.
"That was enough for the FDA to issue an emergency use authorization for bamlanivimab as a treatment for COVID-19 in November. In response to the FDA’s action, the National Institutes of Health later released a statement saying at present, "there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of bamlanivimab for the treatment of outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19."
The words "That was enough" and ""there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against" again convey negative opinion, and lack real facts. The words "NIH had no opinion on this" would be equally true, but would be far less biased.
In summary, don't believe anything you read in a "news"paper.
They are mistaken - the “apple flavor” is almost detectable behind the light bitterness - but I’ve had regular medicines that tasted much worse.
I believe I got this on a freerepublic thread a few days ago. I only bookmarked the link to the article not the thread itself. I thought it contained about the best I had heard or seen so far.
https://aapsonline.org/CovidPatientTreatmentGuide.pdf
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