Topic category: Healthy Living & Health Care Issues
A Plan for A Safe and Rapid Return to Normal We know how to safely reopen "business as usual" and reboot our economy, we just need to put our knowledge to use.
A highly effective treatment for the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic is well-established by testing and experience. It's time to move rapidly to a return to "normal" with a safe economic reboot that assures no possibility of a recurrence of the pandemic.
Some background:
SARS-CoV:
“Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was first discovered in Asia in February 2003. The outbreak lasted approximately six months as the disease spread to more than two dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before it was stopped in July 2003.”[1]
No transmission of the SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) has been observed since 2004.
SARS-CoV, Chloroquine, and Hydroxychloroquine:
A 2005 study of the efficacy of chloroquine (an anti-malarial drug) as a treatment for SARS-CoV found it to be “effective in preventing the spread of SARS CoV in cell culture.” It also found chloroquine produced a “Favorable inhibition of virus spread … when the cells were either treated with chloroquine prior to or after SARS CoV infection.” In other words, chloroquine was observed to exhibit both prophylactic and curative properties for SARS CoV.
Developed in the 1940s, hydroxychloroquine is a less toxic derivative of chloroquine and was approved for medical use in the United States in 1955. Hydroxychloroquine sulfate is approved for a variety of conditions including Malaria, Lupus Erythematosus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Q Fever, Porphyria Cutanea Tarda and Polymorphous Light Eruptions.[2]
SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19):
The Wuhan coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) developed in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late 2019 and within six months the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had spread around the globe.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) as a treatment: “On March 28, 2020, FDA issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) that permits chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to be distributed from the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to public health authorities to facilitate availability of the drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic… FDA concluded that emergency use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19 met criteria for issuance of an EUA because SARS-CoV-2 can cause a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, including severe respiratory illness; based on the totality of scientific evidence available to FDA, it is reasonable to believe that the drugs may be effective in treating COVID-19 and, when used under EUA conditions, known and potential benefits outweigh known and potential risks; and there are no adequate, approved, and available alternatives to emergency use of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for treatment of COVID-19.”[2]
Hydroxychloroquine has been found to be more effective than chloroquine against SARS-CoV-2.[3]
Several studies either have or are being performed on the efficacy of HCQ sulfate as a treatment for SARS-CoV-2. One such study showed a complete cure of all patients taking HCQ sulfate plus azithromycin (Z-Pak antibiotic) in a period of just five days. By contrast, 50% of those taking just HCQ sulfate had a complete cure in five days, while 80% of a control group not taking HCQ were still suffering from SARS-CoV-2 after five days. “Despite its small sample size our survey shows that hydroxychloroquine treatment is significantly associated with viral load reduction/disappearance in COVID-19 patients and its effect is reinforced by azithromycin.”[4]
While additional studies and trials are being conducted on the efficacy of HCQ sulfate and HCQ sulfate plus Zinc for both a prophylactic and treatment of SARS-CoV-2, the many anecdotal cases and smaller studies involving the use of HCQ sulfate provide compelling evidence that it is highly effective in both applications and that early treatment of SARS-CoV-2 with HCQ sulfate produces remarkably quick positive outcomes.
What HCQ Does:
Iron is essential to the proper function of hemoglobin whose purpose is to transport oxygen to tissues to support life-sustaining tissue metabolism. SARS-CoV-2 attacks hemoglobin and liberates iron from hemoglobin in the form of free heme. “Free heme offers toxic effects to tissues and organs through oxidative stress” that causes a variety of severe health complications.[5] HCQ sulfate appears to be highly effective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 from breaking down hemoglobin.[6,7]
Returning to normal:
As clinical trials continue to support and refine HCQ sulfate treatment for SARS-CoV-2, there is now sufficient testing and treatment knowledge to lay a solid groundwork for an effective plan for an economic reboot and a rapid return to “business as usual” without risking another major outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
A Plan to Restart Normal Life:
Wherever a return to normal life is to begin in an area, two prerequisites must be satisfied:
There must be an adequate supply of the 5-15 minute testing equipment at every major pharmacy so that a suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection can be confirmed or eliminated without delay.
An emerging standard protocol using HCQ alone or optionally together with other remedies (e.g., zinc supplements and/or azithromycin, Z-Pak) needs to be established. An adequate supply of HCQ sulfate and optional additional remedies must be stocked and readily available at all major pharmacies for quick treatment of any infected person.
In addition, individuals should be encouraged to be prescreened by their physician to certify an appropriate treatment protocol (with or without optional remedies) if a standard protocol is not advised due a special precondition of the individual.
Armed with the necessary testing and treatment materials, designated regions can begin to restore normal life with the assurance that any outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 would be stifled before it could regain a foothold.
During Economic Recovery and Return to Normal Life:
While there remain recovering SARS-CoV-2 patients, those in high-risk occupations (hospital workers, EMTs, physicians, dentists, ophthalmologists, etc.) would be offered HCQ sulfate as a prophylactic.
During full recovery of patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, enhanced sanitizing of public assembly areas would be continued, however the public use of masks and preventive separation would no longer be required.
This plan assures adequate preparation to rapidly deal with any possible SARS-CoV-2 infection. It requires people be aware of the early symptoms associated with the development of a severe SARS-CoV-2 infection and to seek immediate testing at a local pharmacy upon any indication of an infection (e.g., cold symptoms coupled with a fever). If a positive test is obtained, then the pharmacy would immediately dispense either the items required for the approved five-day general treatment protocol or materials designated by a physician’s pre-approved treatment protocol for the individual testing positive.
Such a plan would be staged to first bring back to normal those areas of the nation where the epidemic has clearly and significantly subsided or where no significant outbreak has occurred.
Legitimate concerns about a recurrence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic would necessarily be satisfied by adoption of this rapid response plan.
While a return to normal is underway, prudent travel restrictions would remain in place until the global pandemic has subsided and the threat of another outbreak is eliminated.
The plan outlined above offers a prudent approach to achieving a rapid reboot of our businesses, our economy, and our normal way of life while providing a strong backstop against any future recurrence of a large regional outbreak.
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.
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