@Abou Sandal Hydroxychloroquine has failed to prove its efficacy in a number of randomized controlled trials which is considered the gold standard in terms of determining worthiness of any treatment. RCTs allow as much of an isolation as possible of the treatment's effect vs. surrounding environmental factors. Most of the studies you refer too, such as the one from Michigan in the
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, are retrospective studies which are neither randomized nor controlled. Here is an exert from a review of the study in question: “The Detroit study [...] has very poor methodology—completely observational, meaning that the choice to give hydroxychloroquine was probably also linked to other factors that explain the benefit,” says Bob Wachter, chair of the department of medicine at UC San Francisco. RCT studies published in NEJM and the lancet from Brazil, the US, Europe and others are not showing any benefit.
That said, personally I would love if it is the miracle cure some tout it is, unfortunately, I don't see enough proof it is after now more than 7 months of this shit. Moreover, it is a dangerous drug to use. It's not exactly a panadol where I would have said: go nuts with it all you want.
What my problem is with this whole HDX is not its efficacy or not, it is that completely unqualified individuals such as Bolosonaro, Trump, Navarro or even urologists with no background in virology/epidemiology are making these outlandish claims. Politicians should stay out of deciding whether a drug is good or not and should spend their time on managing public health based on sound and proven models. I would love if the two idiots promoting hydroxychloroquine would spend their time bringing down the number of infections rather than playing doctor. They couldn't get into medical school for a reason.
Quite inaccurate. HCQ+AZ treatment has been proven to be efficient with substantial results. Not a single serious study proved otherwise and all medical institutions and center who administered this treatment on their patients, provided clear data to prove that. Detractors of the treatment have never been able to provide other than claims, empty talk and sometimes fake studies if not forged ones. The studies published in NEJM and the lancet are of that caliber and were refuted and denounced widely enough for that matter.
As for medical institutions bringing forward numbers, they were never in the course of conducting studies, in order for them to make RCT, but rather in the course of providing treatment. And as such, and seeing that the treatment was working, it was unthinkable and unethical for them to make RCTs, knowing that lives are at risk.
And so their numbers and results were criticized at first, because they could not be considered in conformity with protocols in studies, despite the fact that they never claimed to make studies, to start with.
But then later, and with the thousands of treated patients later, and among them many who decided by themselves not to opt for the treatment, a de-facto situation was created in which, these groups became a statistically acceptable comparative groups and therefore technically an admissible RCT sample.
At which point numbers started talking so loudly that they could hardly be silenced.
And so far, not a single institution or Doctor who has effectively administered this treatment to his hundreds or thousands of patients, would tell you anything other than this treatment works, and works significantly well. From France to Portugal to New-York to China to Saida and Beirut...All practicians who treated their patients with this combi are unanimous.
And no one is saying that this is a miraculous treatment. This in fact, is only the best available treatment known to us so far. Again, well proven by REAL numbers of REAL treated patients.
Numbers that cannot be ignored by simple rhetorics and other theories.
When HCQ+AZ treated patients who die, are times and times less than who followed other treatments, no one can ignore such numbers and results, no matter the twist one could bring to it.
The problem with some detractors, is that they hate the likes of Trump and Bolsonaro so much, that anything these guys say, must be deconstructed and proven false at all cost.
Most of ordinary people in this trend, are simply manipulated by media, fake scientists, big Pharma and other politicians, who are just pawns in the hand of the establishment that has a grip on most official Worldwide bodies and organizations like WHO and most Western affiliated official health comities and organizations.
But hey...people are free to believe whatever they want. At the end of the day, we live in a World where many would happily jump off a cliff, when subjected to a well thought narrative.
So it’s only normal that there could be many who refuse to acknowledge a good treatment, as long as those in control of their minds and thoughts, didn’t clearly give them a green light.
As long as they’re happy, then I guess that no harm in that, provided they do not prevent others from practicing their own free will and choice of doing otherwise.