Encouraging coronavirus thoughts

[Newman]

Another, slightly larger study from the French Doc.

Coronavirus cure: French researchers completed new additional study on 80 patients, results show a combination of Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin to be effective in treating COVID-19

The results are very, very encouraging. Larger, clinical studies are getting underway.

So, all this is good, and I'll put that to one side. On Facebook I've seen a odd reaction, and it seems to be a reflexive result of hating the president. Judging from the howls rising from a few of my BFFs, cries of "fake news" among them, I suspect some of them honestly, deep down, secretly perhaps, really don't want an east, instant cure. It would ruin everything. And, of course, it will be all the worse if this stuff works, since Trump has been all hope and encouragement, while the naysayers have followed the peculiar example of the Nevada governor.

[bandersnatch45]

Abbott Diagnostics has a new test for the virus that takes 5 minutes. It goes into production April 5.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...lmost-anywhere

Sent from my BBB100-1 using Tapatalk

[Novaheart]

I spent 9 hours in the hospital yesterday. I needed a resection on my bionic arm, but was also treating cellulitis in my left leg.. keflex which I discontinued in anticipation of a bag of IV vancomycin. Surgery was delayed so all in all I went 12 hours off antibiotics at a critical time. So I'm suffering with weird electrical sensations in my hand. The Wuhan Virus protocols , despite being completely understandable, add stress and annoyance. Even the OR nurses seemed to be uncertain about protocol. Day of hell, but could be worse.

[Gingersnap]

I have noticed that some friends are bad-mouthing the combo treatment despite having little in the way of understanding the effectiveness where it has been tried. The motive does seem to be some weird yearning for an apocalyptic scenario.

I find this ironic and perplexing. I do prep and have heard all the jokes and dismissals about it from them (I'm not fighting anybody for toilet paper). I do read the Bible (again the jokes and dismissals) but don't expect the Trib out of this. I am fairly optimistic about this even though I think that the giant lockdown is an overreaction. I've seen more end-of-the-world movies than they've had hot dinners and yet they are the doom and gloom set.

I have to think that a lot of people have relatively meaningless lives. They truly believe that their existence is purposeless and that they are soulless meat sacks just marking time until they finally go up in smoke literally. This crisis is a way of providing meaning on some level. It provides some measure of purpose. It can frame an otherwise random biological accident of existence in a coherent way.

Luckily, most people aren't like this.

[Newman]

Every generation wants to matter

This crisis is a way of providing meaning on some level. It provides some measure of purpose.

I think that's true.

And I think it redeems other frustrations, too:

If we missed our chance to be in "the Good War," and if Climate Apocalypse never quite gels, here at last we have an existential crisis facing our very selves!! A crisis we can confront, and emerge from victorious (since almost none of us will get sick anyway, much less die—"I caught COVID-19" will become the "I was at Woodstock" mantra of a new generation).

One frustration they think it will redeem is their hatred for Trump, his family and his supporters.

But what if this whole crisis is vitiated by a scruffy Frenchman?

How dare he!

[Frostbit]

I think that's true.

And I think it redeems other frustrations, too:

If we missed our chance to be in "the Good War," and if Climate Apocalypse never quite gels, here at last we have an existential crisis facing our very selves!! A crisis we can confront, and emerge from victorious (since almost none of us will get sick anyway, much less die—"I caught COVID-19" will become the "I was at Woodstock" mantra of a new generation).

One frustration they think it will redeem is their hatred for Trump, his family and his supporters.

But what if this whole crisis is vitiated by a scruffy Frenchman?

How dare he!

On the Woodstock reference perhaps the T-shirts will day I got COVID AR Daytona Beach Spring Break.

[Newman]

On the Woodstock reference perhaps the T-shirts will day I got COVID AR Daytona Beach Spring Break.

I've suggested "I went to Spring Break in Florida and all I got was this lousy virus."

My wife, conscientiously sanitizing doorknobs and car keys, did not approve.

[80zephyr]

I spent 9 hours in the hospital yesterday. I needed a resection on my bionic arm, but was also treating cellulitis in my left leg.. keflex which I discontinued in anticipation of a bag of IV vancomycin. Surgery was delayed so all in all I went 12 hours off antibiotics at a critical time. So I'm suffering with weird electrical sensations in my hand. The Wuhan Virus protocols , despite being completely understandable, add stress and annoyance. Even the OR nurses seemed to be uncertain about protocol. Day of hell, but could be worse.

Take care of yourself Nova. I am not being entirely altruistic when I say that. I would miss your posts.

Mark

[Newman]

Judging from the howls rising from a few of my BFFs, cries of "fake news" among them, I suspect some of them honestly, deep down, secretly perhaps, really don't want an east, instant cure. It would ruin everything. And, of course, it will be all the worse if this stuff works, since Trump has been all hope and encouragement, while the naysayers have followed the peculiar example of the Nevada governor.

I have noticed that some friends are bad-mouthing the combo treatment despite having little in the way of understanding the effectiveness where it has been tried. The motive does seem to be some weird yearning for an apocalyptic scenario.

I find this ironic and perplexing. I do prep and have heard all the jokes and dismissals about it from them (I'm not fighting anybody for toilet paper). I do read the Bible (again the jokes and dismissals) but don't expect the Trib out of this. I am fairly optimistic about this even though I think that the giant lockdown is an overreaction. I've seen more end-of-the-world movies than they've had hot dinners and yet they are the doom and gloom set.

Don Surber writes similarly:

Democrats fear a cure

The biggest fear for Democrats today are chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. Democrat governors in Michigan and Nevada have banned their use to fight COVID-19, not because the drugs may harm people but because the drugs may work.

The party's flying monkeys in the press are casting shade on this possible cure.

Surber quotes a Politico report, then:

The [Politico] headline read, "Trump's push for risky malaria drugs disrupts corona virus response."

The risk the Democrats fear is success.

Buried in the story in Paragraphs 38 and 39 was the reason President Donald John Trump wants to give it a try.

The story said, "German drugmaker Bayer, which holds the original chloroquine patent, was the first to get involved when Chinese officials approached the company as that nation’s outbreak raged in early February. The experience provided lessons for how to use the drug, said Matthias Berninger, a Bayer public affairs executive, like that it works best when given to people soon after infection, rather than waiting until they’re hospitalized in an intensive care unit and forced to use a respirator.

"Now New York, with 60% of new U.S. corona virus infections, is the emerging front line of the pandemic. Bayer has donated three million pills to the federal government, confident from its experience in China that the drug could push down the number of people who need to go to the hospital — so long as it goes to the right patients."

Thus it isn't crazy old Orange Man with a hare-brained idea.

This is science.

Elsewhere in the world, they are giving the treatment a chance. . . .

. . . It appears to work. French Doctor Didier Raoult said the treatment worked on 78 of 80 patients.


Which is why Democrats hate it. They fear a defeat of COVID-19 will cost them in the next election -- which explains why the U.S. press wants people to think the treatment will kill you.

Our press and the rest of the Democrat Party root for the failure of these drugs because the Orange Man has high hopes for it.

Democrats thought COVID-19 would destroy President Donald John Trump.

Frank Bruni of the New York Times wrote, "There was never any doubt that this pandemic would scramble November 2020, but how much — and how? At first, all the great oracles augured Trump’s long-delayed reckoning and his certain demise, given his hemming, his hawing, his lying and his economy, which was suddenly in tatters. This was it. He’d finally met his undoing. It couldn’t have happened to a more cavalier guy."

A cure is the last thing Democrats wants, Surber writes as his finish.

It seems to me the really, really last thing governors like Nevada's Sisolak and Michigan's Whitmer should want is to be wrong. To have blocked their constituents from access to a successful remedy; to have put them at the back of the line.

To take that gamble they are blinded by Trump Hate.

[Frostbit]

Don Surber writes similarly:

Democrats fear a cure
Surber quotes a Politico report, then:

A cure is the last thing Democrats wants, Surber writes as his finish.

It seems to me the really, really last thing governors like Nevada's Sisolak and Michigan's Whitmer should want is to be wrong. To have blocked their constituents from access to a successful remedy; to have put them at the back of the line.

To take that gamble they are blinded by Trump Hate.

I believe the French are in stage two trials. As soon as they clear and approve the Treatment Trump should pressure the FDA for approval. Then if the Governors continue with a ban have them arrested for attempted murder. That is what they are doing.

[Gingersnap]

This drug combo (and maybe the addition of high dose Vitamin C) seem at least like something the affected people would want to try considering the problems with nothing but ventilation. I know I would. I'd do just about anything to avoid being ventilated.

I've always thought that affected people are the ones who can best decide if they want an off-label treatment or unusual treatment. They are facing death or something terrible. People in normal clinical trials usually aren't and the results of the trial will come far too late, if ever.

Surely, the "trial" results will yield more useful data being used on the badly affected population rather on a more random group. Let them decide.

[Newman]

This drug combo (and maybe the addition of high dose Vitamin C) seem at least like something the affected people would want to try considering the problems with nothing but ventilation. I know I would. I'd do just about anything to avoid being ventilated.

I've always thought that affected people are the ones who can best decide if they want an off-label treatment or unusual treatment. They are facing death or something terrible. People in normal clinical trials usually aren't and the results of the trial will come far too late, if ever.

Surely, the "trial" results will yield more useful data being used on the badly affected population rather on a more random group. Let them decide.

Everyone is covered by the "Right to Try":

On May 30, 2018, President Donald Trump signed S.204, the Trickett Wendler, Frank Mongiello, Jordan McLinn and Matthew Bellina Right to Try Act. Right to Try opens a new pathway for terminally ill patients who have exhausted their government-approved options and can’t get into a clinical trial to access treatments. Although 41 states have passed Right to Try laws, the signing of S.204 makes Right to Try the law of the land, creating a uniform system for terminal patients seeking access to investigational treatments.

Who qualifies for Right to Try?

To be eligible for Right to Try, a patient must meet the following conditions:

• Be diagnosed with a life-threatening disease or condition;
• Have exhausted approved treatment options;
• Be unable to participate in a clinical trial involving the eligible investigational drug, as certified by a doctor, who is in good standing with her licensing organization and will not be compensated directly by the manufacturer for so certifying; and
• Give written informed consent regarding the risks associated with taking the investigational treatment.

What is a life-threatening disease or condition?

Federal law defines a life-threatening disease or condition as: “Diseases or conditions where the likelihood of death is high unless the course of the disease is interrupted” (21 CFR 312.81).

What drugs or treatments qualify for Right to Try?

The treatments available under the law must meet the following conditions:

• Have completed an FDA-approved Phase 1 clinical trial;
• Be in an active clinical trial intended to form the basis of an application for approval or be the subject of an application for approval that has been filed with the FDA; and
• Be in ongoing active development or production and not discontinued by the manufacturer or placed on clinical hold.

I do not live in a state with a Right to Try law. Can I still use Right to Try?

Yes. S.204 makes Right to Try the law of the land. So long as a patient and treatment meet the qualifications of the federal law, Right to Try applies, regardless of whether the patient’s state adopted Right to Try.

[Newman]

I believe the French are in stage two trials. As soon as they clear and approve the Treatment Trump should pressure the FDA for approval. Then if the Governors continue with a ban have them arrested for attempted murder. That is what they are doing.

What I read above says patients don't have to wait until the stage two trials are finished. I think the NV and MI governors are already in violation, though I dimly recall that Sisolak (NV) backed away from his headline-grabbing slap at the president, and issued some sort of list of tortured contingencies that meant, Not Really.

Edit to add:

Here. This isn't the report I saw, but it's the same thing. First, Sisolak huffs up and says, I meant what I said!

Gov. Sisolak reiterates position on potential coronavirus drug

The Office of the Governor wants to make sure Steve Sisolak’s position is clear on the use of two drugs which show promise in treating COVID-19. . . .

and

During a news conference earlier this week, Governor Sisolak stated, “I also signed an emergency regulation, promulgated by the (Nevada) Board of Pharmacy, to limit the hoarding of two certain drugs: chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine,” adding, “There is no conclusive evidence at this time among COVID-19 experts or Nevada's medical health advisory team, that the drugs provide treatment for COVID-19 patients.”

Anytime a politician uses the word "promulgated" you know you're in for some steaming bullshit.

Then he has a spokesman send out an email:

In an email to News 3, Ryan McInerny states, “Yesterday, a number of press outlets, including the AP, agreed to correct headlines and language yesterday that incorrectly called this decision a “ban.” There is an explicit exception in the regulation allowing for a “chart order for an inpatient in an institutional setting,” McInerny wrote.

That means, according to McInerny, doctors in hospitals and emergency rooms can still prescribe those drugs to treat an admitted patient, diagnosed with COVID-19.

News 3 was also able to confirm late Thursday that chloroquine is, in fact, currently being used to treat COVID-19 patients in Nevada, although the source would not reveal how many people are currently receiving it.

The Governor’s office says it decided to issue the emergency regulation to restrict doctors, other than those in hospitals and emergency rooms, from prescribing chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, to prevent hoarding and assure an ample supply for patients using it for medical issues like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, where clinical trials have demonstrated its effectiveness.

While Sisolak’s order isn’t an all-out ban on the use of chloroquine against COVID-19, Naomi Lopez, Director of Healthcare Policy at the Goldwater Institute, says she’s concerned when politicians start inching toward a slippery slope.

“The initial executive order had a limit to a 30-day prescription fill, which I thought was a very reasonable approach because there are true concerns about people stockpiling these treatments, and not having them available in a hospital setting,” said Lopez. “I think that we do need to be very careful about having politicians make medical decisions on behalf of physicians.”

I think Sisolak could've fertilized half of Nevada with this one.

[Gingersnap]

I forgot about the "Right To Try"!

I'd personally get rid of the FDA trial requirement. I understand and generally support FDA trials for things that otherwise healthy people use to manage things that won't kill you in a week but if something might - forget them. Try whatever. If it works, that's data, if it doesn't, that's data.

[Michele]

I spent 9 hours in the hospital yesterday. I needed a resection on my bionic arm, but was also treating cellulitis in my left leg.. keflex which I discontinued in anticipation of a bag of IV vancomycin. Surgery was delayed so all in all I went 12 hours off antibiotics at a critical time. So I'm suffering with weird electrical sensations in my hand. The Wuhan Virus protocols , despite being completely understandable, add stress and annoyance. Even the OR nurses seemed to be uncertain about protocol. Day of hell, but could be worse.

that doesn't sound pleasant. I hope it has gotten better.