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Tag: Hydroxychloroquine

  • Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19: Trump backs Dr Stella Immanuel, calls her ‘spectacular, impressive’

    Hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19: Trump backs Dr Stella Immanuel, calls her ‘spectacular, impressive’

    U.S. President Donald Trump has described as “impressive” and “spectacular” Dr Stella Immanuel and her sensational video prescribing hydroxychloroquine as cure for COVID-19.

    His comment came just as social media companies cracked down on the viral coronavirus disinformation that came out of the Doctors summit event, where Immanuel spoke in Washington D.C.

    That didn’t perturb Trump, who praised Immanuel and her fellow Frontline Doctors at a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

    “I can tell you this, she was on air along with many other doctors,” he said.

    “They were big fans of hydroxychloroquine and I thought she was very impressive in the sense that from where she came, I don’t know which country she comes from, but she said that she’s had tremendous success with hundreds of different patients, and I thought her voice was an important voice, but I know nothing about her.”

    “For some reason the internet wanted to take them down and took them off,” Trump said of the group. “I guess Twitter took them off and I think Facebook took them off. I don’t know why I think they’re very respected doctors.”

    Trump then described Immanuel, as “spectacular” in her statements about hydroxychloroquine.

    “I don’t know why they took her off, but they took her off, maybe they had a good reason, maybe they didn’t, I don’t know,” Trump said.

    Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube removed the viral video of the event which had garnered millions of views after President Trump and others retweeted the clip.

    SquareSpace also suspended the website for America’s Frontline Doctors, which put on the event.

    The video featuring Immanuel, who also claimed that masks aren’t necessary for protection against COVID-19, was pulled from the platforms for sharing misinformation about the disease.

    Twitter also briefly locked the Twitter account of the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., when he tweeted the video and called it a “must watch!!!”

    The viral video, which racked up more than 13 million views on Facebook, drew more attention to some of Immanuel’s more bizarre previous medical claims.

    The Daily Beast reported Tuesday that Immanuel had claimed in the past that some gynecological ailments are caused by people having sex in a dream-world with demons, with the demonic semen as the origins of the afflictions.

    Immanuel had also claimed that doctors used alien DNA in medical treatments, and that lizard-like “reptilian” aliens are involved in the United States government.

    She thanked The Daily Beast on Tuesday for “summarizing” her work.

    “The Daily Beast did a great job summarizing our deliverance ministry and exposing incubus and succubus. Thank you Daily Beast. If you need deliverance from these spirits. Contact us,” she tweeted.

    But she has refused to provide proof of her claim that she’s cured hundreds of COVID-19 patients with hydroxychloroquine.

    Earlier in the day at another White Coat Summit event, Immanuel slammed “professional hacks” in medicine who have criticized the use of hydroxychloroquine.

    But she saved special vitriol for doctors who refuse to prescribe the drug because they’re supposedly afraid of professional consequences, calling them “good Germans” — a reference to Germans after World War II who claimed they had never supported the Nazis.

    “You’re no different than a murderer,” Immanuel said. “You’re no different than Hitler.”

  • WHO discontinues trial of hydroxychloroquine treatment for COVID-19 patients

    WHO discontinues trial of hydroxychloroquine treatment for COVID-19 patients

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it has discontinued the use of hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir in its global trial for treatment of COVID-19 as recommended by the Solidarity Trial’s International Steering Committee.

    The UN health agency, in a statement posted on its website, stated that the Solidarity Trial was established by WHO to find an effective COVID-19 treatment for hospitalised patients.

    “The committee formulated the recommendation in light of the evidence for hydroxychloroquine vs standard-of-care and for lopinavir/ritonavir vs standard-of-care from the Solidarity trial interim results.

    “The trial interim results and from a review of the evidence from all trials presented at the July 1 to July 2, WHO Summit on COVID-19 research and innovation.

    “These interim trial results show that hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir/ritonavir produce little or no reduction in the mortality of hospitalised COVID-19 patients when compared to standard of care.

    “Solidarity trial investigators will interrupt the trials with immediate effect,’’ it said.
    According to the statement, for each of the drugs, the interim results do not provide solid evidence of increased mortality.

    “There were, however, some associated safety signals in the clinical laboratory findings of the add-on Discovery trial, a participant in the Solidarity trial.

    “These will also be reported in the peer-reviewed publication.

    “This decision applies only to the conduct of the Solidarity trial in hospitalised patients and does not affect the possible evaluation in other studies of hydroxychloroquine or lopinavir/ritonavir in non-hospitalised patients or as pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis for COVID-19.

    “The interim Solidarity results are now being readied for peer-reviewed publication.’

  • WHO to resume trial of hydroxycholoroquine on COVID-19

    WHO to resume trial of hydroxycholoroquine on COVID-19

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it will resume its trial of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

    WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, stated this in official twitter account of the UN health agency.

    According to him, the hydroxychloroquine section of the WHO’s Solidarity Trial can resume after being paused temporarily on May 25.
    The trial’s Data Safety and Monitoring Committee had halted the study as a precaution in response to safety concerns raised by an observational study published in the Lancet.

    Ghebreyesus said the Data Safety Monitoring Board’s review had been completed.

    “Last week, the Executive Group of the Solidarity Trial decided to implement a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm of the trial, because of concerns raised about the safety of the drug.

    “This decision was taken as a precaution while the safety data were reviewed; the Data Safety and Monitoring Committee of the Solidarity Trial has been reviewing the data.

    “On the basis of the available mortality data, the members of the committee recommended that there are no reasons to modify the trial protocol.

    “The Executive Group received this recommendation and endorsed the continuation of all arms of the Solidarity Trial, including hydroxychloroquine.

    “The Executive Group will communicate with the principal investigators in the trial about resuming the hydroxychloroquine arm,’’ he said.

    The director-general said the Data Safety and Monitoring Committee would continue to closely monitor the safety of all therapeutics being tested in the Solidarity Trial.

    “So far, more than 3,500 patients have been recruited in 35 countries.

    “WHO is committed to accelerating the development of effective therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics as part of our commitment to serving the world with science, solutions and solidarity,’’ he said.

    Meanwhile, Nigeria, on May 27, declared that it would continue with hydroxychloroquine clinical trials on COVID-19 patients.

    Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said the country would continue with the drug, in spite of the initial warning by WHO to discontinue using it.

    ”I do not know the data that they’re looking at, whether it’s from the Caucasian population or from the African population.

    ”If the data they’re looking at, and the reason for suspending the trials, is from the Caucasian population, then it may be justified.

    “But I don’t think we have data from the African population yet, because our genetic makeup is different.

    ”If medical doctors, research scientists, pharmacists, herbal experts work together, we should conclude the clinical trial in three-four months.

    “The narrative might change afterward but for now, we believe in hydroxychloroquine,” she said.

  • France counters U.S, bans use of Hydroxychloroquine as treatment for COVID-19 patients

    France counters U.S, bans use of Hydroxychloroquine as treatment for COVID-19 patients

    The French government on Wednesday canceled a decree allowing hospital doctors to administer hydroxychloroquine as a treatment to patients suffering severe forms of COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus.

    The ban, which takes immediate effect, is the first by a country since the World Health Organisation said on Monday it was pausing a large trial of the malaria drug on COVID-19 patients due to safety concerns.

    The cancellation of the decree, which in effect means the drug is now banned for such use, was announced in the government’s official bulletin and confirmed by a statement by the health ministry.

    However, it did not refer to the WHO suspension.

    France decided at the end of March to allow the use of hydroxychloroquine, which in addition to malaria is approved for treating lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, in specific situations and in hospitals only for treating COVID-19 patients.

    British medical journal The Lancet has reported that patients getting hydroxychloroquine had increased death rates and irregular heartbeats, adding to a series of other disappointing results for the drug as a way to treat COVID-19.

    US President Donald Trump and others have pushed hydroxychloroquine in recent months as a possible coronavirus treatment.

    No vaccine or treatment has yet been approved to treat COVID-19, which has killed over 350,000 people globally.

  • COVID-19: WHO suspends trial of hydroxychloroquine over safety concerns

    A clinical trial of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19 has been ’temporarily’ suspended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

    The Director-General of the UN health agency, Tedros Ghebreyesus, in a virtual press conference on Monday said the decision follows a study in the Lancet indicating that use of the drug on COVID-19 patients could increase their likelihood of dying.

    The cited study, titled “Chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19: Why might they be hazardous?” published on Friday, highlighted that patients who took chloroquine, which hydroxychloroquine is derived from, were also more likely to develop irregular heart rhythms.

    Mr Ghebreyesus also said the executive group of the Solidarity Trial, in which hundreds of hospitals across several countries have enrolled patients to test several possible treatments for the virus, had as a precaution, suspended trials using that drug.

    “The executive group has implemented a temporary pause of the hydroxychloroquine arm within the Solidarity Trial while the data is reviewed by the Data Safety Monitoring Board.

    “The other arms of the trial are continuing,” he said.

    He also said this decision only applies to the use of the hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in COVID-19 patients.

    “I wish to reiterate that these drugs are accepted as generally safe for use in patients with autoimmune diseases or malaria, ” he said.

    Chloroquine is a synthetic drug introduced in the 1940s. It is a member of an important series of chemically related agents known as quinoline derivatives. Hydroxychloroquine is a related compound that was introduced in 1955.

    Both drugs are used in the treatment of tropical diseases such as malaria and amebiasis, a parasitic disease also known as amebic dysentery.

  • COVID-19: Trump admits self-medicating with hydroxychloroquine, dismisses warnings on side effects

    COVID-19: Trump admits self-medicating with hydroxychloroquine, dismisses warnings on side effects

    U.S. President Donald Trump admitted on Monday that he has been on self-medication for about 10 days, taking the malaria drug, hydroxychloroquine.

    He told reporters he has been taking it with a zinc supplement to lessen COVID-19 symptoms should he contract it.

    So far, the drug is unproven for fighting COVID-19.

    Trump spent weeks pushing the drug as a potential cure for COVID-19.

    This was against the cautionary advice of many of his administration’s top medical professionals.

    The drug has the potential to cause significant side effects in some patients and has not been shown to combat the new coronavirus.

    Trump said his doctor did not recommend the drug to him, but he requested it from the White House physician.

    “I started taking it, because I think it’s good,” Trump said. “I’ve heard a lot of good stories.”

    The Food and Drug Administration warned health professionals last month that the drug should not be used outside of hospital or research settings, due to sometimes fatal side effects.

    Regulators issued the alert after receiving reports of heart-rhythm problems, including deaths, from poison control centres and other health providers.

    Trump dismissed reports of side effects, saying, “All I can tell you is, so far I seem to be OK.”

    At least two White House staffers tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, sparking concerns about the steps taken by the administration to protect the president.

    Thee development sent Vice President Mike Pence and other officials into varying forms of self-isolation.

    The White House has since mandated that those in the West Wing wear face coverings.

    It also introduced daily testing for the virus for the president, vice president and those they come in close contact with.

    Trump has repeatedly pushed the use of the drug with or without the antibiotic azithromycin, but no large, rigorous studies have found them safe or effective for preventing or treating COVID-19.

    Two large observational studies, each involving around 1,400 patients in New York, recently found no benefit from hydroxychloroquine.

    Two new ones published Thursday in the medical journal BMJ reached the same conclusion.

  • Largest trial: Trump’s hydroxychloroquine fails on treatment of Covid-19, increases deaths

    Largest trial: Trump’s hydroxychloroquine fails on treatment of Covid-19, increases deaths

    A malaria drug widely touted by President Donald Trump for treating the new coronavirus showed no benefit in a large analysis of its use in U.S. veterans hospitals.

    There were more deaths among those given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, researchers reported.

    The nationwide study was not a rigorous experiment. But with 368 patients, it’s the largest look so far of hydroxychloroquine with or without the antibiotic azithromycin for COVID-19, which has killed more than 171,000 people as of Tuesday.

    The study was posted on an online site for researchers and has been submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine, but has not been reviewed by other scientists. Grants from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Virginia paid for the work.

    Researchers analyzed medical records of 368 male veterans hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at Veterans Health Administration medical centers who died or were discharged by April 11.

    About 28% who were given hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11% of those getting routine care alone. About 22% of those getting the drug plus azithromycin died too, but the difference between that group and usual care was not considered large enough to rule out other factors that could have affected survival.

    Hydroxychloroquine made no difference in the need for a breathing machine, either.

    Researchers did not track side effects, but noted hints that hydroxychloroquine might have damaged other organs. The drug has long been known to have potentially serious side effects, including altering the heartbeat in a way that could lead to sudden death.

    Earlier this month, scientists in Brazil stopped part of a hydroxychloroquine study after heart rhythm problems developed in one-quarter of people given the higher of two doses being tested.

    Many doctors have been leery of the drug.

    At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, “I think we’re all rather underwhelmed” at what’s been seen among the few patients there who’ve tried it, said Dr. Nasia Safdar, medical director of infection control and prevention.

    Patients asked about it soon after Trump started promoting its use, “but now I think that people have realized we don’t know if it works or not” and needs more study, said Safdar, who had no role in the VA analysis.

    The NIH and others have more rigorous tests underway.

  • COVID-19 patient claims hydroxychloroquine saved his life

    COVID-19 patient claims hydroxychloroquine saved his life

    A 52 years old Florida man, Rio Giardinieri, who was down with the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is claiming that yet to be approved antimalarial drug, hydroxychloroquine saved his life.

    Giardinieri was diagnosed of COVID-19 and pneumonia at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in South Florida, and was put on oxygen in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital.

    He showed symptoms of horrendous back pain, headaches, cough and fatigue for five days after catching the disease, possibly at a conference in New York.

    The Florida man, who is waiting to be discharged from hospital, said doctors told him there was nothing more they could do after more than one week of battling for life.

    Giardinieri said goodbye to his wife and three children on Friday evening, he told Los Angeles’ Fox 11.

    “I was at the point where I was barely able to speak and breathing was very challenging. I really thought my end was there,” he said.

    Giardinieri narrated that in his travail, a friend sent him a message about hydroxychloroquine, and he contacted an infectious disease doctor about the drug.

    “He gave me all the reasons why I would probably not want to try it because there are no trials, there’s no testing, it was not something that was approved.

    “And I said, ‘Look, I don’t know if I’m going to make it until the morning,’ because at that point I really thought I was coming to the end because I couldn’t breathe anymore. He agreed and authorized the use of it and 30 minutes later the nurse gave it to me,” Giardinieri said.

    After about an hour on an IV with the medicine, Giardinieri said, it felt like his heart was beating out of his chest and, about two hours later, he had another episode where he couldn’t breathe.

    He said he was given Benadryl and some other drugs and that when he woke up around 4:45 a.m., it was “like nothing ever happened.”

    He’s since had no fever or pain and can breathe again. Giardinieri said doctors believe the episodes he experienced were not a reaction to the medicine but his body fighting off the virus.

    Giardinieri, the vice president of a company that manufactures cooking equipment for high-end restaurants in Los Angeles, said he had three doses of the medicine Saturday and is hoping to be discharged from the hospital in five days.

    “To me, there was no doubt in mind that I wouldn’t make it until morning. So to me, the drug saved my life,” ,” Giardinieri said.