What is your view of the use of Hydroxychloquine and Zithromax to treat COVID-19?

If it works, it works. And should be used.

No evidence and can cause harm by prolonging QT interval.

It’s interesting, isn’t it?
I was reading about the FDA’s approval for widespread use this morning.

The FDA is jumping the gun and should not have done what they did. There is no evidence that these treatments work and they can cause harm. More data is needed.

I’m not a doctor or anything, but CDC has recommended chloroquine in the past for people going on vacation. I guess you could argue that it might have unintended effects when the virus is present. I have no idea how that works to be honest.

Also heard Italy and France have started to prescribe it.

It’s used to treat lupus and rheumatoid arthritis as well as malaria. Patients with those conditions need and depend on it for ongoing treatment. I don’t think it’s right to deprive them in order to give it to people who might benefit from protection it might give against something they might be exposed to. People who rely on it are finding they can’t get it because this sudden and (in my opinion) irresponsible increase in demand was not anticipated.

Suppose somebody without medical evidence spread the word that insulin was proof against covid-19 and our president mentioned it on TV. Would you be fine with taking it away from diabetics so people with money and/or compliant doctors could give them a placebo?

(The fact that it could harm them is absolutely beside the point. It’s an example.)

Remember, too, that a lot of our drugs come from China. I’ve read that nobody actually knows how much of our pharmaceuticals rely on supplies from China.

This is a layperson’s opinion. I have no medical training or credentials.

Agreed—I wouldn’t consider depriving Lupus patients.

The solution would be the influx of donations and mass production from the pharmaceutical companies. It would only be used in cases where the presence of the virus is known.

@Caravanfan The evidence is, it works in about 92% of the cases where it has been used.

This combination of drugs CAN cause heart issues, and in high doses can cause blindness.

@Yellowdog I read this the other day about Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd

@Yellowdog Where are you getting that 92% figure from?

@Yellowdog: It’s always helpful to provide links to back up your claims.

It had almost a hundred-percent success rate. No, it did not. That is anecdotal, not a verified study. Being touted by the President is not verification.

Same quackery as Jim Bakker selling silver gel.

My layman opinion is I think drugs like doxycycline, Zithromax, methotrexate, and even Hydroxychloquine, work on some rheumatic conditions because I think there is some sort of underlying bacterial or parasitic infection that is helping to cause the disease. Some sort of combination of bacteria or parasite, immune response, and maybe in combination with a virus too.

Currently, obviously, the COVID19 virus has been identified and is not classified as rheumatic, but I think it’s relevant. Chronic conditions that are “caused” by immune response in the body scientists call rheumatic, but some diseases that were thought to have been rheumatic or simply the body doing the wrong thing have been proven to be caused by a bacteria or other pathogen. Examples are Lymes disease and stomach ulcers.

The theory, and this might have changed since I looked at it, was drugs like minocycline or doxycycline working for RA or schleroderma in some patients, was the drugs have anti inflammatory properties. I believe the patient has less inflammation because pathogenic bacteria or parasites are being killed off. Again, I think there is a bacterial or parasite and viral component, the two are cocommittal in some way.

I could be completely wrong though.

I am not convinced the combination of Zithromax and Hydroxychloquine works against C19, but I do think it’s worth testing. I would hope scientists do extensive bacterial cultures looking for not only bacteria that is considered pathogenic, but also bacterial that are considered normal flora and look for commonalities in patients with severe disease vs mild disease.