Trump is not a scientist, although far too many would regard him as such. However, in light of recent scientific research that has found hydroxychloroquine to be not just ineffective, but potentially lethal in the treatment of COVID-19, the WHO has announced that it is suspending the use of hydroxychloroquine in tests for remedying the COVID-19 coronavirus.
The World Health Organization will temporarily suspend enrollment in hydroxychloroquine trials in a study of four treatment options for COVID-19, the WHO announced Monday in a press conference.
The drug is part of the “Solidarity” international clinical trial sponsored by the WHO in 17 countries, with others expressing interest. Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan explained that the trial is overseen by a board of experts and an independent data safety monitor. The steering committee met over the weekend and decided in light of uncertainty about the drug, that they should “err on the side of caution and suspend enrollment into the hydroxychloroquine arm” of the trial, Dr. Swaminathan said.
The new plan is for the board to look into data from the trial so far, and continue to gather evidence on efficacy and safety of the drug. Dr. Swaminathan emphasized the importance of continued well-conducted studies in large enough numbers to reliably answer those questions. The WHO wants to use hydroxychloroquine if it reduces mortality rates and lengths of hospital stays, she said.
Officials in the press conference clarified that this is only a temporary measure, and the board will meet again in about two weeks to review the data. The process is standard practice, and if no danger is found randomized use will continue, Executive Director Dr. Michael Ryan said.
Last week, President Trump announced that he’s taking the drug every day to possibly prevent COVID-19. In a letter, Trump’s doctor said “the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.” The FDA says the general public shouldn’t take the drug to treat or prevent COVID-19 outside of hospitals or monitored trials, because it can interact with common medications and cause irregular hearth rhythms.
In the largest study so far on hydroxychloroquine ‘s effectiveness at treating COVID-19, patients who received the medication had a higher risk of death than those who did not. The study of more than 96,000 hospitalized patients was published in the journal The Lancet, and the study’s authors couldn’t find any noticeable benefits from the medication. The study wasn’t definitive, though — it was observational, rather than a randomized controlled trial. (source)
Hopefully there will be a treatment for this illness as soon as possible. However, one cannot expect this will happen.
Instead of hoping for an unsure treatment, there is a solution that works throughout history, and that is to do what people have done across place and time, which is to socially distance, close the doors, and wait for it to pass. All plagues, pandemics, and bouts of disease inevitably pass, so it is not a question of it, but a matter of time. This always has been the case throughout history, and it makes not exceptions.
Nobody wants to stay inside or avoid people in summertime. People want to enjoy themselves. This is a very natural and normal impulse. However, man is influenced by not governed by his impulses. If the latter was true, he would be an animal. Hence a dog bites because it is a dog and acting on instinct unless trained by a human, which even acts as a restraint and can still be broken. A human by contrast can actively choose how to act and can oppose his natural instincts by the force of will.
It is not easy, but man can choose.
Make the good choice right now so that your choices for the future might be much, much easier.