(Updated), Is there already a readily-available, inexpensive and safe preventive/treatment for the Wuhan Virus?">
(Updated), Is there already a readily-available, inexpensive and safe preventive/treatment for the Wuhan Virus?">
Hydroxychloroquine and the Wuhan Virus (Updated) Is there already a readily-available, inexpensive and safe preventive/treatment for the Wuhan Virus?
A new study shows that a readily available, inexpensive, and long-standing treatment and preventive for a number of conditions including malaria can both prevent and dramatically reduce the effects of the Wuhan virus (COVID-19). In tablet form, chloroquine and the more effective hydroxychloroquine may, in fact, be able to rapidly end the progress of the infectious virus known as COVID-19, a.k.a. the Wuhan Influenza or Wuhan Virus.
According to Wikipedia:
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), sold under the brand name Plaquenil among others, is a medication used for the prevention and treatment of certain types of malaria. Specifically it is used for chloroquine-sensitive malaria.Other uses include treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and porphyria cutanea tarda. It is taken by mouth.
Common side effects include vomiting, headache, changes in vision and muscle weakness. Severe side effects may include allergic reactions. It does not appear to be safe during pregnancy. Hydroxychloroquine is in the antimalarial and 4-aminoquinoline families of medication.
Hydroxychloroquine was approved for medical use in the United States in 1955. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the safest and most effective medicines needed in a health system. The wholesale cost in the developing world is about $4.65 per month as of 2015 when used for rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. In the United States the wholesale cost of a month of treatment is about US$25 as of 2019. In the United Kingdom this dose costs the NHS about £5.15. In 2016 it was the 135th most prescribed medication in the United States with more than 4 million prescriptions.
A new study strongly indicates this simple, inexpensive tablet is an effective preventive for the Wuhan Flu.
A typical follow-on response to such a revelation is, "We need to perform more studies." Yet, the data is already in hand. As this is a widely-prescribed medication for other conditions, all that is needed is to collect statistics from those who are already taking the medication for other conditions. If the rate of infection in that population is dramatically lower than the general population, then it would be ludicrous to not prescribe this medication as a preventive for all "at risk" categories, principally the elderly and those with a compromised immune system (e.g., HIV patients).
Under the current worldwide pandemic circumstances, a new paradigm should be considered rather than the standard double-blind time-consuming study. An accelerated gathering of information from patients currently prescribed hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine should commence without delay. It would be a simple matter to test each of these patients for the presence of COVID-19 and tally for various appropriate age groups taking each of these two medications (1) the number free of the virus, (2) the number with very mild symptoms of the virus, and the number with a more severe case of COVID-19. These figures would be compared with the figures for the same age groups in the general population to determine how effective these medications have been in curtailing the spread of this virus.
Given the widely-prescribed nature of this preventive, it should be relatively simple and expedient to gather the data required to determine whether it is prudent to quickly distribute these tablets to the at risk population. What possible reasonable roadblock can exist to taking this bold action without delay? This is a one to two week task if begun immediately and performed intelligently.
While this potential preventive and treatment for the Wuhan Virus is not safe for pregnant women, the chances a healthy pregnant woman will develop a severe case of the Wuhan Virus is between slim to nonexistent.
Call your Congressman today and demand action to (1) verify the effectiveness of this inexpensive preventive and (2) if verified, take what steps are required to have this tablet distributed without further delay both to those over age 60 and to those of any age with a challenged immune system.
Author of "Looking Out the Window", an evidence-based examination of the "climate change" issue, Bob Webster, is a 12th-generation descendent of both the Darte family (Connecticut, 1630s) and the Webster family (Massachusetts, 1630s). He is a descendant of Daniel Webster's father, Revolutionary War patriot Ebenezer Webster, who served with General Washington. Bob has always had a strong interest in early American history, our Constitution, U.S. politics, and law. Politically he is a constitutional republican with objectivist and libertarian roots. He has faith in the ultimate triumph of truth and reason over deception and emotion. He is a strong believer in our Constitution as written and views the abandonment of constitutional restraint by the regressive Progressive movement as a great danger to our Republic. His favorite novel is Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and believes it should be required reading for all high school students so they can appreciate the cost of tolerating the growth of unconstitutional crushingly powerful central government. He strongly believes, as our Constitution enshrines, that the interests of the individual should be held superior to the interests of the state.
A lifelong interest in meteorology and climatology spurred his strong interest in science. Bob earned his degree in Mathematics at Virginia Tech, graduating in 1964.
Cover
•
Commentary
•
Books & Reviews
•
Climate Change
•
Site Links
•
Feedback
