Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday said that Hydroxychloroquine should be used as prophylaxis to prevent Coronavirus and not as a treatment for COVID-19.

NDTV ^ | 04/12/2020

[SeekAndFind]

Hydroxychloroquine Not To Be Used As COVID-19 Cure: Top Medical Body India has so far 7,529 positive cases of COVID-19. (Representational)

New Delhi: The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday said that hydroxychloroquine or HCQ should be used as prophylaxis to prevent the coronavirus and not as a treatment for COVID-19. "Two trials were conducted aborad. The trails were not good enough. So, we thought if it needs to used in our country, it should be used as prophylaxis, and not as a treatment," Raman R Ganagakhedkar, Head Scientist, ICMR, told ANI.

"We have decided that if it reduces the chances of COVID-19 among doctors and their contacts, then we will advise it to others. The results of the effect of HCQ in them is yet to come," he added.

He, however, cautioned that HCQ has side effects as well.

"We have never recommended it to the general public. Doctors are advised to prescribe to patients judiciously. People need not be worried nor they need to start using HCQ. Like other medicines, this has side effects too. If we get the desired or futile results, we will inform the public," said Mr Ganagakhedkar.

He further said that it is very hard to say whether or not COVID-19 patient, who has recovered is likely to be COVID-19 positive again or not.

"It is very hard to say something about this. We have initiated a study for this. It will take time. We will tell everything based on evidence," he added.

The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday had said that the government has more than enough stock of HCQ for meeting the current requirement.

India has temporarily licensed the export of paracetamol and anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in appropriate quantities to some countries, which have been badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

India has so far 7,529 positive cases of COVID-19 and 242 deaths caused by the virus.

[nathanbedford]

Fatalities, Recoveries, Resolved, & Serious/Critical Cases in the United States

To continue our discussion of the other day, please take a look at this compilation of data from Doughty One daily update, especially that chart following, "Fatalities, Recoveries, Resolved, & Serious/Critical Cases in the United States"

The thing that troubles me is that no matter what date one looks at the data going down the list it appears that the fatality rate hovers around 20%.

I understand your personal experience in which those patients you have seen treated, or treated yourself, are dying at a much less frightening rate. Perhaps the heading "Fatalities, Recoveries, Resolved, & Serious/Critical Cases in the United States" tells us where the discrepancy might lie-yet the data does incorporate a "serious and critical" so it would seem that whatever the data universe analyzed is, it is more than just ICU patients.

I would welcome your reaction.

[9YearLurker]

Again, what you are suggesting makes no sense. In the NY area and especially NYC, those with virus symptoms below the level of needing to be hospitalized are not even tested. Now they are adding in the deaths of thousands who were nevet tested. There are plenty of reports about here and elsewhere of hospitals getting a big payday if they classify patients as having the virus. There are also shenanigans whereby anyone who dies with evidence of the virus or even suspicions of thwir having the virus is classified as a coronavirus death. If the virus spreads to, say, 20% of our population, that would lead to upwards of a million so-classified deaths each year in the US—not even counting those who are killed by the virus.

We have enough issues with a bioweapon, limited understanding of its properties, anti-Trump and globalist fudging of the numbers to fuel hysteria, growing tech, state-level and other authoritarianism without tossing in wildly inflated death-scare figures as well.

Again, in NYC right now you don’t get hospitalized for this unless there is already serious damage done.

[nathanbedford]

I am losing my patience with you on two counts: 1) at no time have I confused the deaths cited by these sources relating to a portion of the universe they define with deaths as a portion of the whole population or of that portion of the population that may have contracted the virus.

I have always made it quite clear that this is a death count relating to a different group. I have always left open a discussion of what that group is or should be defined but have never insinuated that it was relevant to the general public.

2) your reflexive defense of Donald Trump in this context does you no credit. No need to jump to the defense of Cheeto Jesus Saves because I have carefully articulated on this thread that this has nothing to do with Trump. Even if it did, numbers are numbers therefore I dismiss out of hand you and your mindless defense of Trump when no allegation has been laid against him. I deny that you have the power to censor me or that you have the power to censor the reader or that you have the power to censor the data.

To defend Trump when no charges been laid is as mindless as bogus charges against Orange Man Bad. Both betray a desire to politicize this virus.

Your quarrel is not with me, it is with the numbers, I have no quarrel with Trump I simply want to know what the numbers mean. No one has extrapolated from these numbers a death count for the general population, except you.

Stop shooting the messenger and have the intellectual integrity to deal with the numbers in the context they are shown.

[gas_dr]

You know it’s a really good question. And while I don’t usually do this I will answer a question with a question

I have discharged multiple patients. They are not classified as recovered. It’s unclear to me what the definition of recovery is. So I think the numbers are skewed. The mortality in the United States according to world odometer is 40% of concluded cases. Clearly this is not accurate. From the get go there has been a recalcitrance to classify recovered patients.

So if you take all cases 96% are mild 4% critical. The death rate is realistically around 1% of cases that we know of but here is where the run is...Iceland is reporting a high amount of antibody positive patients. They were symptomatic. If we extrapolate there numbers most likely the death rate is .1% or so.

Based on my clinical experience I see this acts like a very typical severe ARDS. The whole HCQ is a wonderful corollary and I wonder if it can be used in other cases that are not CoVId

This is clearly my opinion but there appears to be some speed to report death and or reclassify it as in the case of New York and slowness in declaring a case resolved

I wonder why that is?

[mdmathis6]

What I need is a way of blunting the disease in a way that doesn’t outright kill me but allows me to get immunity so I can do my nursing work in a free and open way without a million layers of protection. I will always hand wash and use gloves...but the mask and gown thing is a chore and the gowning is a sweat box.

[gas_dr]

Perhaps HCQ prophylaxis

[catnipman]

“the fatality rate hovers around 20%”

fatality RATES are just guesses right now and will remain guesses until a statistically valid sample of IGG/IGM testing of the population is conducted ... however, in other, smaller countries where more extensive per-capita testing has occurred, extrapolations show that 15% of the population has been infected and most of those show zero symptoms, much like West Nile virus showed no symptoms in most who were infected ... so using that basis for the guess, overall mortality rates are extremely low,namely in the .1%-.3% range, compared to the extreme, alarmist numbers that have been wildly thrown out in the last few weeks ...

[nathanbedford]

fatality RATES are just guesses right now and will remain guesses until a statistically valid sample of IGG/IGM testing of the population is conducted ...

If you are one of the wretches sick enough to be admitted to hospital, the "facility rates" are more than guesses and far more ominous.

[nathanbedford]

fatality rates

[catnipman]

“the “facility rates” are more than guesses and far more ominous.”

no question about that ... and that’s true in general even WITHOUT C-19, and even MORE critical for specific procedures, ESPECIALLY if it’s a procedure that you’re facing yourself! ... definitely worth lots of research IF it’s a non-emergency procedure ...