Antiseptic throat spray can reduce Covid-19 spread in high-risk settings, say Singapore researchers

‘A type of antiseptic throat spray, as well as an oral drug usually prescribed to treat malaria and arthritis, have been found to be effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19 in high-transmission settings, said Singapore researchers on Sunday (Apr 25).

‘The findings were made after a large-scale clinical trial conducted last May, involving more than 3,000 migrant workers living in Tuas South dormitory.

‘During the six-week trial, workers were given a povidone-iodine throat spray, which can be bought off the counter, and oral hydroxychloroquine, which requires a prescription.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, Apr 25, 2021)

WHO study says remdesivir did not cut hospital stay or mortality in Covid-19 patients. Same with hydroxychloroquine, anti-HIV drug combination lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon

‘Gilead Sciences Inc's GILD.O remdesivir had little or no effect on COVID-19 patients' length of hospital stay or chances of survival, a clinical trial by the World Health Organization (WHO) has found. The antiviral medication, among the first to be used as a treatment for COVID-19, was one of the drugs recently used to treat U.S. President Donald Trump’s coronavirus infection.

‘The results are from WHO’s “Solidarity” trial, which evaluated the effects of four potential drug regimens, including remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, anti-HIV drug combination lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon, in 11,266 adult patients across more than 30 countries. The study found the regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the length of the in-hospital course among patients hospitalized with COVID-19, the WHO said on Thursday.’

Read here (Reuters, Oct 16, 2020)

Aliens and reptilians: The odd beliefs of Stella Immanuel, doctor in US viral video retweeted by Trump

‘A Houston doctor who praised hydroxychloroquine as a miracle coronavirus cure in a viral video retweeted by President Donald Trump blames gynaecological problems on sex with evil spirits and believes the US government is run by “reptilians”. Stella Immanuel’s viral speech has drawn attention to a little-known group calling themselves “America’s Frontline Doctors” who appear to exist to promote the common antimalarial drug in the fight against Covid-19.’

Read here (South China Morning Post, July 29, 2020)

Why steroids are a Covid-19 game changer

This video provides clear information on how Covid-19 affects our bodies adversely, e.g. via inflammation and over-reaction of the immune system (cytokine storm); why anti-viral remdesivir and drug hydroxychloroquine have been found to be relatively ineffective; and how a low-cost steroid dexamethasone produced quite dramatic positive results in severely affected patients. Although well-produced, this video is a means by the producers Real Science to advertise services like Nebula and CuriosityStream.

View here (Real Science, July 11, 2020)

Lancet editor spills the beans and the unfolding of a pharmaceutical scandal

‘In a videotaped interview on May 24, 2020, Dr [Philippe] Douste-Blazy provided insight into how a series of negative hydroxychloroquine studies got published in prestigious medical journals. He revealed that at a recent Chatham House top secret, closed door meeting attended by experts only, the editors of both, The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine expressed their exasperation citing the pressures put on them by pharmaceutical companies... [Douste-Blazy is a cardiologist and former French Health Minister who served as Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. He was a candidate in 2017 for Director of the World Health Organization]

‘The alarming findings and serious negative impact of the Lancet report led numerous scientists around the globe to scrutinise the report in detail. That scrutiny by legitimate, independent scientists has led to many serious questions about the integrity of the study, the authenticity of the data, and the validity of the methods the authors used... [many details are provided in this story]

Demonisation of favourable HCQ-AZ treatment studies: ‘Since publishing favourable reports about a treatment combination of two cheap, widely prescribed medicines: hydroxychloroquine and the antibiotic azithromycin, as a treatment of choice against Covid-19, Dr [Didier] Raoult has become the subject of intense demonisation by the corporate-influenced medical establishment, the media, and the [sic] who resort to this tactic whenever they lack evidence or legitimate grounds to support public health policies that cause people harm.’

Read here (Health Impact News, received on June 13, 2020)

The pandemic's first major research scandal erupts

‘The controversy is an unfortunate distraction, says Miguel Hernán, a Harvard epidemiologist and co-investigator on an ongoing trial of hydroxychloroquine in Spain and Latin America. “If you do something as inflammatory as this without a solid foundation, you are going to make a lot of people waste time trying to understand what is going on.” Chaccour says both NEJM and The Lancet should have scrutinized the provenance of Surgisphere's data more closely before publishing the studies. “Here we are in the middle of a pandemic with hundreds of thousands of deaths, and the two most prestigious medical journals have failed us,” he says.’

Read here (Science Magazine, June 5, 2020)

Governments and WHO changed Covid-19 policy based on suspect data from tiny US company

‘The World Health Organization and a number of national governments have changed their Covid-19 policies and treatments on the basis of flawed data from a little-known US healthcare analytics company [Surgisphere], also calling into question the integrity of key studies published in some of the world’s most prestigious medical journals [The Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine].

‘Data it claims to have legitimately obtained from more than a thousand hospitals worldwide formed the basis of scientific articles that have led to changes in Covid-19 treatment policies in Latin American countries. It was also behind a decision by the WHO and research institutes around the world to halt trials of the controversial drug hydroxychloroquine. On Wednesday, the WHO announced those trials would now resume.’

Read here (The Guardian, June 3, 2020)

WHO temporarily pauses hydroxychloroquine study due to safety concerns

‘The World Health Organization has temporarily halted studying hydroxychloroquine as a potential Covid-19 treatment due to safety concerns, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during a media briefing in Geneva on Monday.

‘The decision was made after an observational study published Friday in the medical journal The Lancet described how seriously ill Covid-19 patients who were treated with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine were more likely to die. Tedros said that an independent executive group is now reviewing the use of hydroxychloroquine in WHO's Solidarity Trial. The executive group represents 10 of the participating countries in the trial.’

Read here (CNN, May 25, 2020)

Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of Covid-19: A multinational registry analysis

‘Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, often in combination with a second-generation macrolide, are being widely used for treatment of COVID-19, despite no conclusive evidence of their benefit. Although generally safe when used for approved indications such as autoimmune disease or malaria, the safety and benefit of these treatment regimens are poorly evaluated in COVID-19.

’We were unable to confirm a benefit of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, when used alone or with a macrolide, on in-hospital outcomes for COVID-19. Each of these drug regimens was associated with decreased in-hospital survival and an increased frequency of ventricular arrhythmias when used for treatment of COVID-19.’

Read here (The Lancet, May 22, 2020)

Why more must be done to fight bogus Covid-19 cure claims

‘Fake and bogus cure claims are a longstanding, but neglected public health problem. Throughout recorded history, plagues have inspired anxiety and desperation. Time and again, this public nervousness has proved a fertile ground for false cures and claimants to thrive. In this sense, recent claims of COVID-19 cures and antidotes are no exception...Sadly, history is repeating itself in the context of COVID-19. False claims range from US president Donald Trump’s touting of anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure to Madagascar’s herbal “cure” promoted by President Andry Rajoelina.’

Read here (IPS News, May 21, 2020)

No benefit, higher death rate for malaria drug in coronavirus study

‘A malaria drug [hydroxychloroquine] widely touted as a potential cure for Covid-19 showed no benefit against the disease over standard care - and was in fact associated with more deaths, the biggest study of its kind showed on Tuesday (April 21). The US government funded analysis of how American military veterans fared on hydroxychloroquine was posted on a medical preprint site and has not yet been peer reviewed.’

Read here (Straits Times, April 22, 2020)

Eleven people died in Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, during a study conducted with high doses of the drug chloroquine

‘Eighty-one patients participated in the research, 41 of whom received a high dose of chloroquine. After three days of treatment, those who received the highest dose of chloroquine began to have heart arrhythmias. On the sixth day of treatment, 11 of them died, leading the group of researchers to abandon the investigation.

‘The patients in the study were also given the antibiotic azithromycin, a drug that presents the same cardiac risk. The data is still preliminary, not conclusive, which means that more studies are needed on the relationship between the drug, the disease and the deaths.’

Read here (TeleSureTV, April 15, 2020)

Trump is creating a ‘dangerous situation’ by promoting an unproven coronavirus treatment, according to an expert on misinformation

‘President Donald Trump’s promotion of an unproven coronavirus treatment is creating a “dangerous situation,” according to misinformation expert Lisa Fazio. Trump has repeatedly talked up the potential benefits of anti-malaria drug chloroquine and the more widely used hydroxychloroquine despite a lack of clinical evidence showing that either are effective against COVID-19. His enthusiasm has helped fuel a surge in demand that’s led to a shortage, making it hard for people who rely on the drugs to treat non-coronavirus conditions to fill their prescriptions. Trump’s endorsement is particularly worrisome given the amount of misinformation already surrounding the coronavirus, Fazio told Business Insider.’

Read here (Business Insider, April 9, 2020)

Hydroxychloroquine or else! Trump threatens India

‘India, the world’s main supplier of generic drugs, said on Tuesday it will allow limited exports of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine that US President Donald Trump has touted as a potential weapon in the fight against the coronavirus.

‘The Indian government had put a hold on exports of hydroxychloroquine as well as on the pain reliever, paracetamol, saying stocks were depleting because of the hit to global supply chains after the coronavirus emerged in China late last year.

‘But Trump spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend seeking supplies and on Monday said India may face retaliation if it didn’t withdraw the ban on exports.’

Read here (Reuters, April 7, 2020)

Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) issues guidelines on the treatment and management of patients with COVID-19

The IDSA have issued 7 recommendations on the treatment and management of COVID-19 patients. These are part of their aim to “develop evidence-based rapid guidelines intended to support patients, clinicians and other health-care professionals in their decisions about treatment and management of [these] patients.”

They recognise the limitations imposed by “the understandable urgency in producing, synthesising and disseminating data during the current pandemic”. In the rush to publish, there has been (1) circumvention of usual research steps (2) limited peer-review process and (3) increased potential for publication bias (in the interest of showing promising data and in the race to achieve recognition).

The recommendations are based on “evidence from the best available clinical studies with patient-important endpoints”. They also discuss trade-offs between “highly uncertain benefits” and “known putative harms”. They cover treatments involving drugs like azithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir-ritonavir, corticosteroids and tocilizumab.

Read here (IDSA, March 11, 2020)