Summary
On March 19, at a White House briefing, President Trump “touted” chloroquine (hydroxychloroquine is chloroquine metabolite) for possible use against COVID-19. The very next day, a media operation was launched to deny this treatment to the public. Several fake news outlets published articles, saying things like this (NYT, March 20):
Trump’s Embrace of Unproven Drugs to Treat Coronavirus Defies Science
Doctors and patients also worry that the president’s rosy outlook for the treatments will exacerbate shortages of old malaria drugs relied on by patients with lupus and other debilitating conditions.
Referring to this as a media operation is appropriate because multiple outlets repeated the same false talking points. At that time
- The use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 already had scientific support, although not to the level required for FDA approval of a new drug; but HCQ was already approved.
- The fact that hospitals had already been increasing their supply of HCQ and CQ before President’s briefing was an additional indication that medical professionals believed in the drugs’ usefulness against COVID-19.
- There were no shortages of HCQ or CQ for lupus & RA patients at that time.
- Multiple pharma companies announced an increase in HCQ manufacturing and substantial donations of HCQ.
- Even without these increases, the HCQ amounts required for COVID-19 patients were too small to impact the supply for other users.
This false alarm had all the behavioral characteristics of the Democrat-Socialist operatives: pitting groups of citizens against each other, sowing fear and division, and hoping that the conflict would damage President Trump. In this case, they incited lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients against current and future COVID-19 victims. Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft support the fake new media financially, send web traffic to them, and endorse them to some extent. Amplified by Big Tech, the announcement of HCQ shortage caused a vicious spiral: panic buying by lupus patients, which led to actual shortages, which amplified the panic buying and so on. Then the blame was directed at COVID-19 patients and their physicians prescribing HCQ for them.
Consequences of the anti-HCQ Media Operation
The situation was aggravated by actions of some state governments, which started restricting access to HCQ for COVID-19 victims. The Governor of New York outright denied HCQ to COVID-19 victims, except for inpatient treatment and clinical studies. Physicians felt pressured to postpone HCQ treatment for COVID-19 patients. Instead of beginning HCQ treatment as early as possible, they postponed its use the late stages of the disease.
Late treatment with HCQ was frequently used as compassionate care for the most desperate causes. Delaware’s HCQ policy illustrates this thinking in late March: “This drug is used in very limited instances for very critically ill patients with COVID-19, in a clinical setting.” This led to statistics in which use of HCQ was correlated with worse outcomes. Bad actors exploited the correlation-as-causation fallacy to advocate against HCQ.
Apparently, in the early April the medical establishment in the North East (inclusive of NY, NJ, MA, CT, PA, MD, and DC) decided against the use of HCQ as a COVID-19 treatment. Coincidentally or not, this area became the main COVID-19 death cluster, responsible for more than 60% of the US COVID-19 deaths.
Why shortages were not caused by COVID-19 use
The HCQ shortages were not and could not be caused by the drug’s demand as a COVID-19 treatment. HCQ is a prescription drug taken regularly by 1.5-2 million people, at approximately the same doses used for COVID-19. The majority of those taking the drug are lupus patients (there are 1.5M lupus patients in the US, and most of them are on HCQ), followed by rheumatoid arthritis patients (there are 1.3M RA patients). HCQ is manufactured by dozens of companies in the US and abroad in standard 200 mg HCQ sulphate tablets. An estimated 20-30 million HCQ tablets are purchased weekly.
An HCQ-based treatment course for COVID-19 is 5-7 days and requires only 10-15 tablets. On March 21, there were only 24,000 people who had tested positive for COVID-19. Most of them did not need HCQ and could not find a doctor who would prescribe it, anyway. Even if a quarter of them bought 15 tablets each, that would only amount to 90,000 tablets – a drop in the ocean of HCQ supplies. Even if we multiply that number by ten – to include those who were not tested, hypochondriacs, and people who would need it within a couple of weeks – it is still less than one million. Double that number to incorporate lack of knowledge about treatment time and some people using smaller HCQ dosage for prophylaxis, and it is still less than two million tablets, or only about 10% of a regular weekly’s supply. Such increase in demand was easily covered by pharma companies’ existing stock. Additionally, pharma companies were ramping up their manufacturing and announcing donations of tens of millions of tablets. Clearly, purchase of HCQ for COVID-19 treatment likely had no impact at all. All the shortages were caused by the operation using Internet and social media to create achieve results in the physical world. It was the first distributed denial of a life-saving drug in the history.
Stockpiling was the actual cause of shortages
Because HCQ is safe, it is frequently prescribed for 90 days. Because it is cheap, insurance companies may allow patients to refill the whole 90-day supply at one time. Many lupus patients do not adhere to their regimen (see below) and thus often have unfulfilled prescriptions. Due to the fear sowed by the media, some of these patients rushed to fill their long term HCQ prescriptions, even though they had plenty of unused tablets at home. If we estimate only 5% out of the 1.5 million lupus patients filled their 30 or 90-day prescriptions, it created a sudden demand for 9 million tablets – enough to cause shortages in the distribution channels. Even so, it seems that HCQ supply from manufacturers was not interrupted at any time. Some manufacturers always had HCQ for sale, although not in all packaging options. Following data is from the ASHP page, tracking HCQ shortages.
March 19, March 24: HCQ tablets are available from Concordia, Sandoz, Zydus; Prasco (current customers), Amneal (“on allocation”). Teva promises availability in late March. April 16: HCQ tablets are available from Concordia, Mylan; Amneal (“on allocation”), Sandoz (current customers and through HHS), Zidus (current customers), and Prasco (limited supply).
HCQ State Orders
Lacking the authority to completely ban doctors from prescribing HCQ, some governors restricted pharmacies from fulfilling prescriptions to COVID-19 patients, but not to other patients. Notice that the rational policy to deal with shortage would have been to limit dispensed quantities of HCQ to everyone. This would have ensured that all patients receive the drug. The effect of the inverted policy was suffering of COVID-19 victims, stockpiling of the drug by users with 90-day prescriptions, and increased shortages. New York and Michigan outright banned dispensing HCQ to COVID-19 victims, with rare exceptions, and allowed stockpiling by other users. Apparently, when pharmacies in New York ran out of HCQ, lupus patients raided neighboring states.
Some states did not ban, but created obstacles for COVID-19 victims, like the requirement that the patient tested positive for COVID-19 (when the availability of tests was limited). In the best case, the result was delay of HCQ treatment, sharply decreasing its anti-viral efficiency.
NY’s policy on HCQ fulfillment was probably the worst (score: 10):
No pharmacist shall dispense hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine except when written as prescribed for an FDA-approved indication; or as part of a state approved clinical trial related to COVID-19 for a patient who has tested positive for COVID-19, with such test result documented as part of the prescription. No other experimental or prophylactic use shall be permitted, and any permitted prescription is limited to one fourteen-day prescription with no refills.
MI’s policy was probably the second worst. NJ’s policy was not much better.
DE adopted one of the best policies (score: 0):
New prescriptions are being limited to a 14-day supply, unless the patient is previously established on the medication. Patients previously established on the medication are limited to a 30- day supply. This should ensure that patients with chronic disease can get their medication and ensure there is adequate drug available in the clinical setting to manage the critically ill. The Division of Professional Regulation encourages prescribers, pharmacies, and pharmacists to adopt similar policies.
The policies are from AMA Statement and List of Related Laws, April 27.
Deaths Clusters
Supporting Information
Immediate Increase of HCQ Supply
From an article about HCQ donations by pharma companies (FiercePharma.com, March 20, 12:47pm):
Novartis has pledged a global donation of up to 130 million hydroxychloroquine tablets, pending regulatory approvals for COVID-19. Mylan is ramping up production at its West Virginia Facility with enough supplies to make 50 million tablets. Teva is donating 16 million tablets to hospitals around the U.S. On Friday afternoon, Amneal pledged to make 20 million tablets by mid-April.
The pledges follow Bayer’s Thursday [actually, Wed, March 18] donation of 3 million tablets [of Chloroquine].
Teva press release, March 19, 08:23 pm EDT
Teva will donate 6 Million tablets through wholesalers to hospitals by March 31, and more than 10 Million within a month
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE and TASE: TEVA) announced today the immediate donation of more than 6 million doses of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets through wholesalers to hospitals across the U.S. …
Mylan has restarted production of hydroxychloroquine sulfate tablets at its West Virginia manufacturing facility in the U.S. to meet the potential for increased demand resulting from potential effectiveness of the product in treating COVID-19.
Novartis press release, March 20, 12:00 ET
Novartis intends to donate up to 130 million 200 mg doses by the end of May, including its current stock of 50 million 200 mg doses. The company is also exploring further scaling of capacity to increase supply and is committed to working with manufacturers around the world to meet global demand.
Amneal press release, March 20, 4:17pm
Amneal is ramping up production of hydroxychloroquine sulfate at several of its manufacturing sites and expects to produce approximately 20 million tablets between now and mid-April. Those tablets will be made available nationwide through Amneal’s existing retail and wholesale customers, as well as through direct sales to larger institutions in need.
Note that the increase in manufacturing and donations were announced before the fake news media published articles predicting imminent HCQ shortages.
Lupus Patients’ HCQ Needs
After HCQ accumulates in tissues, its half-life in the body is 30-60 days, so its users are able to skip it for a week or two without adverse effects. There is an interesting article in the Journal of Rheumatology:
One of the most common questions from patients was whether they should stop taking their lupus medications … Then, on Thursday, March 19th, President Trump, in a White House briefing, stated that antimalarials “showed tremendous promise” and “could be a game- changer”. Suddenly, the rumblings became a roar. The questions about stopping HCQ turned into ‘I can’t get HCQ, my pharmacy is out’ from lupus patients trying to access refills.
Dr. Raoult, the author of the French study at the heart of the current furor: “It is difficult to find a product that has a better established safety profile. Furthermore its cost is negligible”. One final and ironic possibility: is it possible that one outcome may be improved adherence to HCQ by lupus patients? For years, rheumatologists have been trying to convince lupus patients of essentially the same thing. The risk benefit ratio for HCQ is excellent, and the potential benefits significant. Yet adherence to HCQ is universally low.
The paper says that 20%-50% of the lupus patients had poor adherence to HCQ, sometimes not taking it at all. This is not surprising, given the long half-life of this medication in the body. This also explains why some lupus got COVID-19. More info:
Hydroxychloroquine on Lupus.org:
Given the drug’s many and varied beneficial effects and its excellent long-standing safety profile, most rheumatologists believe that hydroxychloroquine should be taken by people with lupus throughout their lifetime.
Hydroxychloroquine on RheumatoidArthritis.org:
The medication [HCQ] is generally well-tolerated, and has even been found safe overall for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. … Like all medications, there is the risk of side effects. Fortunately, the problems seen by people taking this medication are usually very mild. Serious side effects are rare.
Examples of Fake News Anti-HCQ Articles
Washington Post, March 20, 2020 (5:07 pm CDT)
Hospitals and doctors are wiping out supplies of an unproven coronavirus treatment
This was the initial title. As suits fake news, WaPo surreptitiously changed it to even more alarmist title later:
As Trump touts an unproven coronavirus treatment, supplies evaporate for patients who need those drugs
The byline:
The U.S. has all but exhausted its supplies of two anti-malarial drugs that are being used by some doctors in the U.S. and China to treat the coronavirus, but which lack definitive evidence as effective treatment or approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Note the phrases “all but exhausted” and “lack definitive evidence” indicating intentional deception.
The sudden shortages of the two drugs could come at a serious cost for lupus and rheumatoid arthritis patients …
Notice the “could come”.
Data gathered in the first 17 days of March by Premier Inc., a large group purchasing organization for 4,000 U.S. hospitals, showed a 300 percent week-over-week increase in orders of chloroquine and a 70 percent week-over-week boost in orders of hydroxychloroquine.
Hospitals are sophisticated buyers. They know what might help patients.
The NY Times, March 20, 2020 Updated 7:34 p.m. ET
Trump’s Embrace of Unproven Drugs to Treat Coronavirus Defies Science
Doctors and patients also worry that the president’s rosy outlook for the treatments will exacerbate shortages of old malaria drugs relied on by patients with lupus and other debilitating conditions.
Fake news par excellence! The NY Times insinuates that there are HCQ shortages, contrary to the facts, but in a way that sounds as if it was commonly known information.
“Rheumatologists are furious about the hype going on over this drug,” said Dr. Michael Lockshin, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. “There is a run on it and we’re getting calls every few minutes, literally, from patients who are trying to stay on the drug and finding it in short supply.”
Hydroxychloroquine is especially important for people with lupus, which can be life-threatening, Dr. Lockshin said.
This is an attempt to stir up conflict between lupus/RA patients and COVID-19 patients.
Lupus Patients Can’t Get Crucial Medication After President Trump Pushes Unproven Coronavirus Treatment
Trump’s unproven claim that hydroxychloroquine could be used to treat COVID-19 has led to hoarding, putting Lupus patients and others at even greater risk. As of Saturday afternoon, Anna Valdez had 27 pills left. That number is now down to 25.
Valdez called her local pharmacy and ordered a refill to treat her autoimmune disorder, thinking a 90-day supply would help her ride out the coronavirus outbreak.
Valdez is angry at Trump for recommending a drug that is unproven for COVID-19, upending the way medicine has been practiced and taking a medicine that works away from her.
Anna Valdez, if she ever existed, had enough HCQ for twelve days, and would be able to refill it on time, possibly for less than 90 days, if not for the axis of resistance. More on ProPublica.
Lupus.org published tips for stockpiling HCQ:
Try to refill your prescription before the refill date
If the medication is out of stock at a particular pharmacy, the pharmacists there may still be able to help you find a reputable place to refill. They may know of pharmacies that ship across state lines — if that is the case, ask your prescribing doctor to write you a prescription for that location.
If you believe you have been unfairly denied a prescription fill or refill, find your state board of pharmacy’s phone number or email address to file a consumer complaint.
Ask your doctor to prescribe a 90-day supply, instead of a 30 day supply, to make sure you have enough in case it becomes more difficult to access later.
Data behind the Map
The following table shows the number of deaths, deaths per million of population, and the level of damaging HCQ policy of the state. HCQ policy is assigned a number from 0 (DE) to 10 (NY), based on its level of damage (by withholding or obstructing HCQ) to COVID-19 patients. States without a HCQ policy in the AMA Statement and List of Related Laws are assigned the number 1.
| State | Deaths | Deaths/M | HCQ policy derangement | Cluster? | |
| New York | 26,812 | 1,378 | 10 | NY cluster | |
| New Jersey | 9,264 | 1,043 | 6 | NY cluster | |
| Connecticut | 2,967 | 832 | 1 | NY cluster | |
| Massachusetts | 4,979 | 722 | 1 | NY cluster | |
| Louisiana | 2,286 | 492 | 1 | ||
| District Of Columbia | 328 | 465 | 8 | NY cluster | |
| Michigan | 4,551 | 456 | 9 | ||
| Rhode Island | 430 | 406 | 3 | NY cluster | |
| Pennsylvania | 3,823 | 299 | 1 | NY cluster | |
| Maryland | 1,683 | 278 | 1 | NY cluster | |
| Illinois | 3,406 | 269 | 4 | ||
| USA Total | 80,931 | 245 |
(Worldometers snapshot, May 11, 2020)
Most of the states with the highest number of deaths per million are Democrat governed. On the other hand, California and Washington, who are also Democrat governed but have reasonable HCQ policies, have a low number of deaths per million. Washington, having a HCQ policy score 1, was at a disadvantage, as the first epicenter of the epidemic and because it receives less UV sunlight than NY, yet they fared much better.
Google Blocked Access to an HCQ Paper on Author’s Google Drive
On March 17, Anthony wrote a post An effective treatment for #Coronavirus #COVID-19 has been found in a common anti-malarial drug. It linked to the paper An Effective Treatment for Coronavirus (COVID-19)by James M. Todaro, MD and Gregory J. Rigano, Esq., and its Spanish version, both shared on Google Drive. Since that time, both have been blocked by Google because of violation of its ToS (but remain in an archive).
Elon Musk tweeted about that paper a day earlier. When viewers click the link, Twitter shows them a “warning” that the destination page might be unsafe. I encounter such things all the time.
Face it, if HCQ+ didn’t work, front line doctors would have stopped using it long ago.
just like people stopped using homeopathy centuries ago when it was shown to be ineffective. Or people stopped researching cold fusion. People can convince themselves of almost anything and Doctors are perhaps the worse for that.
For the record I have no idea if HCQ+ works or if it doesn’t but then nobody does since there has not
been enough time for anybody to do a proper study. Some preliminary studies do suggest that it increases
the fatality rate which is reason for caution and certainly there doesn’t seem to be enough evidence of absence of harm to suggest giving it to everyone just in case.
Any study that does not deconvolve the viral part from immune system going open loop means nothing…
As far as I am concerned anyone in the FDA, WHO, CDC, …. who come down with covid should automaticly be install in a study of there choice. They automaticly get the placebo. Blind studies in the middle of a pandemic are immoral…
Yes.
re: “Or people stopped researching cold fusion.”
You need a better 2nd example; research, with positive results, continues (ALTHOUGH with a black eye delivered by ‘experimenters’ early-on who did not closely follow replication protocols.)
I would recommend looking up the IAP lectures delivered at MIT on this subject by Drs Hagelstein and Swartz on this subject.
Isaak, “People can convince themselves of almost anything”
The irony …
That’s really a dumb comment. So, because you don’t know whether or not HCQ+ works, nobody does. And you still peddle the falsehood about it increasing the fatality rate.
“People can convince themselves of almost anything …”
Izzak, stand in front of your bathroom mirror and repeat 7 times.
(Izzak, you are “people”)
“In recent weeks, Raoult has in fact tempered his claims about the virtues of his treatment regimen. The published, peer-reviewed version of the final study noted that another two patients had died, bringing the total to 10. Where the earlier version called the drugs “safe and efficient,” they were now described merely as “safe.”
He has shown flickers of what appears to be doubt. In one interview, Raoult quoted Camus, from the fatalistic coda of “The Stranger,” hoping that “on the day of my execution there should be a huge crowd of spectators, and that they should greet me with howls of hatred.”
“I don’t trust popularity,” he told the interviewer. “When too many people think you’re wonderful, you should start to wonder.” His initial YouTube video, “Coronavirus: Game Over!” has also been renamed. The new language is more measured, and in place of the exclamation point there now stands a question mark”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/magazine/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine.html?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap
Don’t believe what the New York Times say.
YouTube might have forced Dr. Raoult to change the video. It would be interesting to ask him.
I never thought that I would see states in the US purposely killing people for political gain. I just pray the the voters are smart enough to understand what is happening. If nor we are doomed as a nation.
To be fair it is not the “states” that are purposely denying HCQ use and thus increasing fatalities. It is the Democrat Party governors, their administrations, the MSM, and Censor Tech giants like Google and Facebook. The enormous political power arrayed against this life-saving drug is frightening.
What ever happened to the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship? Why is it that so many political animals wish to dictate what my doctor may prescribe to me? It’s really none of their business.
This nation was founded as a free country wherein the God-given rights of the individual were guaranteed and protected by our government. Today every power-hungry authoritarian thinks their opinion supersedes individual rights, without question, as if the very concept of individual rights has completely disappeared.
That is the real lesson of this pandemic. What we were as a nation is gone. The New Normal is a mockery of our founding principles.
Mike,
+1.
Abortion is between a patient and their doctor. Treatment for covid-19 is between the government and the patient.
Democrat hypocrisy at its finest.
Politicians have been executing innocent people in the US for years in order to be seen as being
“tough on crime”. But I doubt there is a conspiracy of the size and scope you are suggesting.
Dear Mr. Walton (obviously not your real name),
Please note the essay by Mr. Goldstein reports a media operation was launched to deny this treatment to the public.. And that the governors of various states restricted the use of HCQ. And that Google blocked access to scientific papers and videos recommending HCQ as a treatment.
I submit that in a FREE country the use of any medicine is a decision to be made by doctor and patient, not you, not governors, not the President, not even the FDA. Media slam campaigns are allowed, short of libel, but censorship is not.
For some reason many people do not agree. They think they should be the arbiters of medical treatments, even though they are not doctors nor the patients. That is more than hubris. It is an imposition on the fundamental rights of other individuals.
Similarly, lockdowns, termination of businesses, de facto house arrest, police enforcement of extralegal decrees, banning church services and other assemblies, censorship of free speech, and other such abrogations are violations of fundamental rights guaranteed by the US Constitution.
You may approve of all that. You are free to express your approval only because this is (or was) a FREE country with protected rights. Without those rights, your speech may be squelched. Your freedom to assemble, pursue income, travel, and generally go about your private business may also be compromised.
I agree with Mr. Goldstein that the crackdown on HCQ resulted in thousands of deaths. People who could have been saved by early intervention were denied that drug for political reasons. There was a cost in lives when individual rights were discarded. There will also be a cost to the economy that will take more lives and ruin many.
Freedom is not free. The destruction of freedom has serious repercussions and consequences. I doubt this society will ever recover, certainly not the lives lost, nor the wealth lost, and especially not the freedom lost.
Good points all, Mike.
And, of course, Mr. “Walton” will now disappear, and fail to answer any of your arguments. Typical gutless troll.
Izaak, “there (sic) are not as bad as you suggest since everyone knows the work and how to get access to them.”
Great ethical outlook, Izaak. So criminality is not so bad when others know how to survive despite it.
I’d like to see that plea fly in court. ‘Your honor, it’s true my client burned down the plaintiff’s house. But it’s not so bad since plaintiff has relatives with houses.’
Your argument about treatment is a fatuous ramble., that ignores the substance of Mike’s position. Namely that doctors and patients are free to decide their course of treatment. You’d have commissars of medicine sitting in doctors’ offices deciding whether to permit or forbid a treatment. Welcome to Izaak World — a happy land where everyone must get Izaak’s approval for everything.
Izaak, “The use of quarantine is legally protected and has always been recognised as a legitimate power of the state.”
And “recognised” by whom? Arguing legitimacy from recognition by the undefined is vacuous.
Welcome to America, Izaak, where the state has no power — no power — that is not Constitutionally granted by the citizens.
A general quarantine of all the citizens is in fact without any Constitutional merit. One can quarantine the contagious sick. Quarantining the healthy is tyranny.
Finally, your argument about conspiracies is a straw man. Mike’s brief is that many lives were lost due to political stupidity and hubris. The emergence of so many tin-plated little dictators shows the substance of Mike’s case.
Mike,
A number of comments:
“And that Google blocked access to scientific papers and videos” — google
has not blocked access to scientific papers. It has blocked access to non-peer reviewed abstracts that claim without valid proof that particular treatments are effective. I personally disagree with google’s actions here but there are not as bad as you suggest since everyone knows the work and how to get access to them.
And do you really believe that “in a FREE country the use of any medicine is a decision to be made by doctor and patient, not you, not governors, not the President, not even the FDA.” Would you for example approve of people taking abortifacient or morphine with no oversight? You appear to be arguing for legalised abortion and euthanasia since in a free country doctors are free to prescribe any medicines they like. And who gets to determine what is a medicine and whether or not it is even remotely safe? What is the role of drug companies in this? Can they claim anything is a medicine and that doctors can prescribe it for any condition whatsoever? Nor have you mentioned the issue of cost, even if doctors are allowed to prescribe medicines many of which are too expensive for most people (especially the latest anti-cancer drugs). Again you are letting drug companies decide who gets to live and die depending on their ability to pay for the medicine.
Also despite what you claim lockdowns appear to be constitutional. The use of quarantine is legally protected and has always been recognised as a legitimate power of the state.
Finally there is no evidence that there is a massive conspiracy to deny millions of
US citizens access to life saving drugs for political reasons. To claim that politicians are really ready to let thousands of people die just to influence an upcoming election
is a huge claim and requires evidence. So far none has been presented.
No kidding Izaak, Obama won a peace prize while droning brown people in the Middle East.
Several of those states with democratic governors forced nursing home to accept coronavirus patients.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/coronavirus-spreads-new-york-nursing-home-forced-take-recovering-patients-n1191811
Map would be more meaningful if it was done on a city population or better yet population density basis. Area maps are misleading, almost as bad as pie charts. Unless, of course, the intent is to scare folks with big blotches of colours. Edward Tufte rules!!!
I thought I remembered something about Dr. Fauci’s remdesivir conflict of interest. (it was some comments on this WUWT story) I googled. Nothing. Duckduckgo.com showed a bunch. Yahoo.com showed some stuff. Then I remembered dogpile.com. It shows lots of stuff.
I have no way of knowing if the accusations against Fauci are, or are not, baseless. What is blatantly obvious is the extent of Google’s censorship. Some of my friends in the free software community think Google is evil. Google hasn’t done anything lately to make me think otherwise. Censorship is the enemy of democracy.
I was a little surprised the other day when I was listening to a news conference by the state public health officials in Oklahoma, and a reporter asked the health official what the policy was on hydrochloroquine, and the official did not seem very familiar with hydrochloroquine, saying something like “we are looking into it”. Damn fella! *You’re* the “Health” official, and you don’t know about hydrochloroquine? This doesn’t instill confidence.
The governor of Oklahoma announced today that Oklahoma would be ready to move to “Phase Two” of the opening of the Oklahoma economy beginning May 15.
We’ve been going for about two weeks in Oklahoma with relaxed restrictions and so far, so good. We aren’t seeing any spikes in infections. Of course, it’s early yet.
We’re on the way back!
What’s the incubation period? About two weeks?
Yeah, it’s about two weeks. We ought to be hearing something soon about how the infection rates are doing. That’s the whole purpose of this exercise..
Just for the record, I don’t believe it was President Trump who began the discussions about HCQ and “Z-packs” (azythromycin) as a treatment for the Wuhan coronavirus. I first saw that in a tweet from a couple of doctors in Italy, retweeted by Elon Musk. THEN Trump started talking about it.
The Italian doctors were saying that patients were making an almost miraculous recovery; so it’s not surprising that Trump started talking about it.
Well! Mr. Goldstein! 🙂 You are clearly on to something important, here.
Aside from all the EXCELLENT reporting by you and by the well-informed the commenters on this thread, who your opponents are here is powerful evidence for your case.
The extent to which you are taking flak from those who all line up on the pro-AGW side (Pool, Walton, St0kes, Phildot, et al.) speaks volumes. The same devotees of the unskilled GCMs, the same ones who year after year slavishly promote the unsupported-by-data conjecture that we should all follow the “The Precautionary Principle” and relegate humans to the misery of a non-petroleum economy, are here LOUDLY blustering against trying a possible cure with potential side effects far less damaging than what they push.
Good, job, Goldstein!
Your opponents are proving your case for you (both by their inanities and by the mere fact that such people are arguing against you).
Aaaarrrgh. Why in the WORLD did that 9:27pm comment go into moderation (the kind where you get the warning message about it). Aaaaaaaaaa. This site is so frustrating!!!!
“NS” is a curiously protected person here, Janice. Very hard to bring the hammer down on his garbage. Even obfuscating the name, you can still get wiped.
This stuff was jumped on gleefully by the BBC over here in the UK- Trump pushing treatment that we now know doesn’t work, whilst completely ignoring the utter failure of the EU to even agree on any form of action or stimulus whatsoever. I was very surprised by this- the BBC is usually soooo balanced and fair minded…
Video “Hydroxychloroquine versus Remdesivir”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBma_0oAiMI
The part about Senegal should be shocking. A very poor country bests the west. They can test everybody, quickly. They can use HCQ, very successfully.
Leo
A great article for identifying the manipulation, blocking of products, and proving the complete sellout of governance in the USA to industrial and banking entities, and high worth groups. Bill Gates father would be proud of him.
Your article is about corruption, and the manifestation of interference to allow covid19 death rates to spiral.
When the incentive is $13000 per death certificate with covid19 as cause, and $39000 if they are put on ventilator prior to death, that shows real intent. New York, where else could it have happened. The center of corruption.
Media, websites, blogs, analysis and discussion for over three months is all about covid19. Daily Government updates create urgency and immediacy, this is a fast evolving virus. We have no vaccine, the human immune system wont create antibodies was constant.
In the background, reality, it appears that this is another bank bailout, and other acts of greed and control opportunity. Banks started requiring huge volumes of cash mid last year and it excellerated. The financial virus that brought down the banking system 07/08 is still out there, its quite interesting what the Fed reserve has been doing with American taxpayers funds. Covid19 is insignificant to what has been going on over at the Fed.
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2020/05/congress-sets-up-taxpayers-to-eat-454-billion-of-wall-streets-losses-where-is-the-outrage/
Tony Fauci told everybody that a pandemic was coming. He should have known, he had both hands in it.
https://gumc.georgetown.edu/gumc-stories/global-health-experts-advise-advance-planning-for-inevitable-pandemic/#
The distraction and lock down, will have immeasurable negative side affects on society.
Allegations of a $10m bribe to Nigerian Congress to allow fast tracking of new vaccines. What could go wrong in a country like that.
https://dailypost.ng/2020/05/04/bill-gate-offered-house-of-reps-10m-bribe-for-speedy-passage-of-compulsory-vaccine-bill-cupp-alleges/
Did they leave a bank account number and branch to deposit the $10 million into Oz? They are usually very helpful like than in Nigeria…. 🙂
https://aapsonline.org/evidence-hydroxychloroquine/
“Where’s the Evidence on COVID-19 Treatment?
Toto Thank you for the link. It is unbelievable that the U.S. heath care system is not even up to 3rd world status.
Another drug that is being tried for coronavirus is Ivermectin. Lab studies show anti-viral activity in vitro. Together with zinc, vitamin D and vitamin C. Studies have shown a low vitamin D level is associated with a higher mortality.
More on ivermectin from Derek Lowe’s blog ‘In the Pipeline’
https://blogs.sciencemag.org/pipeline/archives/2020/05/11/whats-up-with-ivermectin
So if Grampa dies of Covid19 in one of those states that has managed to deny him Chloroquine can we expect to see lawsuits?
No, you won’t see any successful lawsuits for not using hydrochloroquine. That’s because hydrochloroquine has not yet been officially found to be effective for use on the Wuhan virus.
There should be results from several clinical trials of hydrochloroquine in the next few weeks. We’ll have a better understanding of its effectiveness, or lack thereof, then.
JOINT STATEMENT OF THE BOARD OF OSTEOPATHIC LICENSURE AND THE BOARD OF LICENSURE IN MEDICINE ON PRESCRIBING CHLOROQUINE, HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE, AND AZITHROMYCIN
There have been reports nationally as well as in Maine that physicians or physician assistants are prescribing chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin to prevent or treat COVID-19, and they are prescribing these medications for themselves, family members, or for patients without symptoms or a COVID-19 diagnosis. Such activity may lead to stockpiling of medication, inappropriate use, and potential drug shortages for patients with a legitimate need for these medications.
During this coronavirus emergency, physicians and physician assistants must carefully follow established guidance and clinical evidence in making prescribing and treatment decisions. On March 28, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization for use of oral formulations of chloroquine phosphate and hydroxychloroquine sulfate to be prescribed by doctors for hospitalked adult and adolescent patients.
IN ORDER TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, MAINE PHYSICIANS AND PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS ARE REMINDED THAT:
Absent acute or emergency circumstances, prescribing for oneself or family members is considered unethical and unprofessional conduct. It may also violate applicable Board rules.
Prescribing chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin for prophylactic purposes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak may be considered unprofessional conduct, may negatively impact drug supplies impacting the health of existing patients who are established on these medications for treatment of their disease, and may lead to improper use which can cause patient harm.
Physicians and physician assistants are reminded to prescribe appropriately and to consider medication side effects, drug interactions, contraindications, and appropriate monitoring requirements (e.g. laboratory and cardiac testing). Meeting appropriate monitoring requirements for patients may be limited or restricted during this pandemic. You must exercise sound professional judgment and adhere to evidence-based standards of practice in making your prescribing and treatment decisions.
“JOINT STATEMENT OF THE BOARD”
ROLF @ur momisugly ‘boards’ of anything.
Appeal to (idiotic) Authority.
re: “During this coronavirus emergency, physicians … must carefully follow established … . On March 28, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued… .
IN ORDER TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, MAINE PHYSICIANS … ARE REMINDED THAT:
Absent acute or emergency circumstances, prescribing for oneself or family members is considered unethical and unprofessional conduct. It may also violate applicable Board rules.
Prescribing chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin for prophylactic purposes in response to the COVID-19 outbreak may be considered unprofessional conduct … ”
These sorts of ‘warnings’ by so-called governing or licensing ‘boards’ does nothing except drive the use of such drugs underground. No one says anything, no positive (or negative!) results are announced, no communiques are issued and CERTAINLY no correspondence ‘up’ the so-called ‘chain of command’ results, so the ‘board’ remains isolated in their (mistaken) top-down, heavy-handed impositions on practicing clinicians (doctors).
Good job, ‘board’, and welcome to the ‘dark ages’ once again …
In France, family doctors have been forbidden to prescribe HCQ to treat SARS-COV2. In France, before this ban, HCQ has been over the counter for decades and its side effects are perfectly well known.
The advocates of this ban have finantial interests with other drugs :
https://www.marianne.net/politique/ambiguite-gouvernementale-liens-d-interets-au-sommet-de-l-etat-enquete-sur-la-guerre
Now compare the (catastrophic) national fatality ratios in France with the data at the UHI Méditerranée and the AP-HM (public hospitals in Marseille) :
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/
https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/covid-19/
The AP-HM+UHI results are in the same ballpark as other countries that used HCQ (or equivalent Nivaquin) :
China, South-Korea, Vietnam, Iceland, Greece, Pakistan, India, Malaisia, Turkey, Marocco, Algeria, etc. to name a few.
At least in France, this is nothing else than a mass murder committed by goons with financial interests.
Merci, Petit Barde (and others posting about Remdesevir, etc.). You all answered a question I have had for awhile now about this issue. “Who is benefiting from artificially restricting this product’s market share?”
cui bono
Disgusting.
One issue to consider is the cost of HCQ (pennies per dose) versus Redesivir at over $4,000 per dose. There is little money to be made with HCQ, but $100s of Billions to be made by Gilead with Remdesivir. HCQ is very cheap and many studues show that it is effective. Redesivir is breathtakingly expensive. Perhaps the anti-HCQ folks have a cozy relationship with Gilead.
Well, I don’t disagree with anything you said but I would point out that there must be something of value in hydrochloroquine production because there are numerous companies producing this drug, and I have to assume they are making money, or they wouldn’t be making it.
There is only one currently recruiting clinical trial for hydroxychloroquine + zinc. It is in Turkey, and is prophylactic for healthcare workers.
None of the other registered clinical trials involving those two drugs (Tunisia, UK, NY, and CA) have started recruiting.
So if it takes a clinical trial to get a treatment approved, the approval of this combination has not even gotten underway, and may never. If it is never approved, doctors will never dare prescribe it because of the furor.
If this combination works we may never know. Because nobody is testing it now, and they may never.
Quercetin is a zinc ionophore. We are taking Quercetin and zinc prophylactically starting the day before we go into the public. They are over the counter. Nobody can stop us. If this simple combination really works I feel sorry for the people who are dying while they obediently wait for a copacetic clinical trial of HCQ + Zn that is never going to happen.
I think the results of a Chinese clinical trial of hydrochloroquine is due at the end of May.
Is it HCQ + zinc?
An ionophore without a target is like a car without a driver. People don’t naturally have these quantities of zinc in their system, it’s not even healthy on a long-term basis.
Quercetin is healthy long term. It’s almost magical. Zn if you eat red meat… and easy to get. I recommend CA Mg Zn combo… I take 1 3x a day and that comes out to about 15mg / day.
Vit D most important if you don’t get ample sun. I take 6000 IU / day unless I spent outdoor time.
Leftists’ demonization of HQC is just another example of how many of them, couldn’t care less about the suffering many Wuhan flu patients experience.
Leftists’ primary objective is to promote their insane Trump Derangement Syndrome psychosis and to politicize everything in an effort to make sure Trump doesn’t win re-election.
If that means some Wuhan flu patients have to die that could have survived if treated with the HQC drug regimen, so be it…” You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.”
There is overwhelming evidence the HQC/Azithromycin/Zn drug regimen is an effective treatment of the Wuhan flu, providing it is administered immediately after flu symptoms appear.
When will Leftists start showing some real compassion rather than merely performing vapid virtue signally to make themselves appear to be caring.
SAMURAI – 11:46 pm
“You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.”
One good quote deserves another:
“Power grows out of the barrel of a gun”
Who allowed you to be the self-appointed cook?
Wasn’t Rita Wilson Hanks treated with chloroquine when she became ill with WCV19? Hmmm—One of the self styled elite, very very rich, treatment in a First World hospital, and she survived. But we are told the treatment is ineffective for the peasantry. Right.
The truth is Big Pharma had to play down the effectiveness of the cheap drug HCQ because they were desperate to earn a fortune from a more expensive drug. It was a race against time for which they could no longer wait, and Big Pharma front-man, Dr Fauci, finally revealed the premature FDA approved REMDESIVIR as a treatment, despite lack of clinical trials that saw the FDA approve it in record time.
So many conspiracy theories, so little time. Where does the TriLateral Commission fit into this?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1992/04/25/beware-the-trilateral-commission/59c48198-9479-4c80-a70a-a1518b5bcfff/
“If a member of the Council on Foreign Relations leaves Chicago on a train headed west at 50 MPH and a member of the Trilateral Commission leaves San Francisco on a train headed east at 60 MPH, how long does it take for them to take over the world?”
– old joke
Out of 65,000 Italian Lupus/RA patients taking hydroxychloroquine, 20 tested positive for Covid-19 and zero had ICU visits or death.
Citation.
https://www.unz.com/isteve/in-italy-practically-nobody-who-takes-hydroxychloroquine-for-lupus-or-rheumatoid-arthritis-got-cv/
Well, it turns out now that Shelley Luther, the Dallas Texas, Hair Salon owner who defied the lockdown rules claiming she didn’t have money to feed her children, and got a seven day jail sentence, had actually applied for the Paycheck Protection Program and had been approved for it and received money from the program *two days before* she went before the judge. So when she stood there and told the judge her children were hungry because she didn’t have any money, she wasn’t telling the truth. She just did an interview on Fox where she disclosed these facts.
The Libertarians are falling all over themselves praising her. It’s kind of pathetic. I guess they think Shelley is special and all the other Hair Salon owners that Shelley wanted to go in front of, can go fish.
And all Shelley had to do was wait one more week and her business could have opened without controversy, and she had the money in her pocket to last another week, but she decided it was a better idea to stand in court and defy the rules. I wouldn’t even call that selfish, I would call it clueless. If the judge hadn’t sentenced her to jail, she wouldn’t be making the rounds of the tv shows now.
I don’t think it is a good idea to reward this kind of behavior. Libertarians think it is a good idea because they think all defiance of goverment is a good idea, but when you promote such things, you have to take into consideration that there are people who don’t get all the nuance about defying the government, and take a shorter route like arming themsevles and possibly harming innocent citizens because they have been agitated to think that the government is oppressing them and they have to fight back, and not with words.
Promoting anarchy is insane, and that’s what I see a lot of people on the Right doing right now. They may not consider that they are doing so, but the consequences of their words may lead to that.
At least Sean Hannity had the common sense to condemn the protestors who showed up at the Michigan state capitol with rifles strapped across their backs.
As Sean said, there was no need for that. If these guys felt vulnerable they could have carried a concealed weapon. Instead, they strap a rifle across their back and immediately turn 99 percent of the people off. The rifles are pure intimidation tactics and are counterproductive to any cause that requires debate. These morons thought it was a good idea. I wonder why?
re: “And all Shelley had to do was wait one more week and her business could have opened without controversy”
Yeah, and the mortgage payment is STILL DUE whenever it was “due”.
I don’t want to hear your weak, lazy rationalizations on anything.
You’re the one ALWAYS harping on Rush for some perceived infraction of rules of propriety known only you.
Jim, I can tell you like Rush a lot and you take my criticisms of him personally. I can understand that. I’ve been a life-long fan of Rush and love him dearly. That’s why it bothers me so much to see him misunderstand the Wuhan virus situation and then create a false reality out of the misconception and then pass that misconception on to the world..
Rush trashes the virus computer models without understanding them, and then creates a conspiracy theory about a nefarious Dr. Fauci and the “Scarf Lady” (Rush’s derisive decription of Dr. Birx) foisting a fake virus crisis on Trump and the nation, and now Rush is claiming that Democrat governors are deliberately slow-walking the economic recovery.
So even though I love Rush, I have to speak up when I think he is wrong and is misleading a lot of folks through his misunderstanding of the situation. Rush is right 99.7 percent of the time (certified), but that leaves a little room for him to be wrong once in a while.
I was hoping that since segments of the economy are starting to open up, that he would calm down a little, but he hasn’t so far. Maybe once he sees the economy starting to roll, he’ll relax and can forget about virus computer models and focus on showing us just how criminal the Obama administration and the Demcrats were and are with regard to trying to overthrow a legitimate presidential election. I *like* hearing him rant about that, because he is right as rain on that subject.
I listen to Rush every day. I’m listening to him now.
‘Promoting anarchy is insane, and that’s what I see a lot of people on the Right doing right now.’ And yet this is what everyone on the left does all the time, including inciting violence.
“And yet this is what everyone on the left does all the time, including inciting violence.”
Don’t think I’m excusing the Left for anything.
Source: British Loyalist in 1774.
Thank You, Lord, that the Tom Abbotts of that era did not prevail in their arguments.
Whether the salon owner used a piece of evidence that was incorrect (and it was about her colleagues she made that claim of hungry children, not herself, btw) is NOT the point.
She should never have been shut down in violation of her 14th Amendment rights. The COVID19 edicts are hideously overbroad. People who do not want to enter her salon or anyone else’s business premises are free to stay away.
Defending civil liberties is not to promote anarchy.
Defending our constitutional rights is what every American ought to do.
*********************
And why pick on Ms. Luther? There is a wonderful MALE barber (Karl Manke) in Michigan doing the same thing. His local officials have simply handled the situation more wisely.
(https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2020/05/11/karl-manke-owosso-michigan-barber-court-order/3107462001/ )
***************************
In spite of your disturbingly anti-American values essay above, nevertheless, I leave off writing here still feeling quite peaceful about the state of America, Mr. Abbott. Along with Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, liberty-loving Americans (and, no, I am not a Libertarian) still walk the streets of this land. You should see the support given to Mr. Manke — people driving from over 2 hours away just to get a haircut from him.
Take heart all you truehearted Americans:
AMERICA, THE LAND OF THE FREE, LIVES!
“She should never have been shut down in violation of her 14th Amendment rights. The COVID19 edicts are hideously overbroad. People who do not want to enter her salon or anyone else’s business premises are free to stay away.
Defending civil liberties is not to promote anarchy.”
Well, I hate to argue with you, Janice, but the above sounds like anarchy to me. What you are saying is Shelley and everyone like her should be able to do what they please. Anarchy, Janice.
What about all the other Hair Salon owners who were following the rules? Dont’ they count? Were their kids hungry, too? Should they all have rebelled, too? I’m guessing you would say yes. Anarchy.
And Shelley did use the “hungry kids” gambit to apply to herself. I’m sure that won the hearts of every woman watching her.
So Shelley got the PPP payment; that’s a payment that not only gives Shelley money for herself and her business, but also pays the salaries of any employees, so it’s hard to see how anyone is hungry in this situation, and that doesn’t even take into account that Shelley and all her employees were eligible for the Trump $1200 payment. Somebody ought to ask Shelley if she got her $1200 (in her case $2200 since she has two kids).
Shelley was seeking sympathy with her “feeding the kids” line.
If the Wuhan virus were as deadly as the Ebola virus, I don’t think you would be praising Shelley for exposing others to such a deadly disease. Instead, you would be criticizing her for being so reckless, as would all her other supporters, if they had any sense.
It’s not a good thing to undermine confidence in the government that is trying to protect society from a pandemic, and that’s what you have to do to get people like Shelley to go out and break the rules.
So the question is: Rules? Or no rules? Can our society operate with no rules? I don’t think so.
And the majority of Americans are following the rules and favor following the rules as they see a benefit to society and themselves from doing so. And then we have people like Shelley.
Mr. Abbott, you live in a U.S. state, but you think like someone from a non-U.S. country.
1. “Rules” are not what determine our civil liberties in the U.S.. Those are codified in the Constitution of the United States of America (and in the constitutions of the 50 states).
2. Constitutional law, here, mainly the 14th Am., says that a “rule” cannot be overbroad, cannot restrict a fundamental constitutional right unless there is a compelling state interest and even then, it must be narrowly tailored.
NEITHER are present, here. The data shows that COVID 19 is not a great danger to most people, i.e., no bona fide compelling interest. Further, the lockdown was grossly overbroad.
3. Governor’s orders are not laws.
4. If Americans, especially our judiciary, abided by your slavish obedience to “rules” we would no longer be America: we would be something much different.
Following the rules ki11ed 6 million Jews.
And then, we have people like Ms. Luther and Mr. Manke.
God, bless them!
Trump erred bigly in touting hydroxychloroquine. Had he instead come out against it, the TDS-afflicted Demotard elites, lamestream news cabal, etc. would have instead supported it, thus saving many lives. Shame on him.
If you restricted the use of aspirin to people in hospice, you could make a media report concluding that aspirin kills. The politics of panic.