I am a pharmacologist. I have been evaluating the benefits and risks of drugs for close to 50 years. I have observed lots of emotion around pharmaceuticals. There was a lot of controversy around birth control pills back in the day. Viagra got its share of headlines. But we have rarely seen the kind of tug of war we are currently seeing with drugs for the coronavirus. The politics of hydroxychloroquine are quite disheartening. That’s because there is so little science on either side of the ledger.
The Pros and Cons of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ):
There are a lot of health professionals who seem to be opposed to the very idea of trying HCQ as a treatment for COVID-19. Some people wouldn’t believe the drug could work even if there were positive data.
Others are so convinced it is effective against the coronavirus that they are hoarding pills. Some people are even taking it in the hopes that it will protect them against COVID-19. They are true believers even though there are no definitive data. The politics of hydroxychloroquine are as polarizing as everything else in the U.S.
Conflicting Trial Data:
The French Are Fighting over HCQ:
The benefits and risks of the malaria drug HCQ to treat COVID-19 are more confusing than ever. The French team in Marseilles that has been promoting its use has released data on 1061 patients. They report that 92 percent of those taking it have recovered within 10 days. Here is the abstract that has been released.
On the other hand, a different French team based in Paris has done a retrospective review of medical records throughout the country comparing patients who took HCQ to those who did not. In 180 patients, they found no significant differences among the groups.
The Chinese Are Fighting Over HCQ Too:
There are also forthcoming data from China. Researchers hint that they will soon publish a study of chloroquine, a related drug. They suggest that the results are positive.
A different Chinese study involving 150 patients adds to the confusion. It reports that the drug did not seem to cure the virus but it did help ease some of the symptoms.
None of these are classic randomized controlled trials. Much larger, better-designed studies are now underway. At last count there are over 60 clinical trials ongoing with hydroxychloroquine, either by itself or combined with another drug.
New Clinical Trials Are Coming!
When the new studies are complete, we will know more about the risks and benefits of hydroxychloroquine. Sadly, those results are still several weeks away.
In the meantime, we just wish health professionals and the public at large would shut up about HCQ. There should be no politics of hydroxychloroquine. Let’s let the science speak for itself. Eventually we will know whether this drug has real benefit against COVID-19 or not.
Learn more about the risks associated with HCQ at this link: Learn more about why HCQ and the dietary supplement quercetin might work at this link.
Share your own thoughts about the politics of hydroxychloroquine in the comment section below.
