NY is starting clinical trials tomorrow, which is what's needed. Meanwhile, there's a report today that an Arizona man is dead and his wife is in critical care after ingesting chloroquine phosphate. I suspect they may have taken a large dose because they were rushed to the hospital 30 minutes later. This is what can happen when people listen to the non-experts and decide to self-medicate.
Chloroquine is a drug used to treat lupus. It has serious side-effects, up to and including blindness, and their doctors have to monitor them while they are on it. The combination of chloroquine and Zithromax that NY is going to test can cause heart arrhythmias. NY's clinical trial will tell us if it's effective in treating COVID-19; I hope it is, but even if it is, not everyone will be able to take it.
I think Trump was very irresponsible in pushing this before we knew whether it works. Those two people didn't take chloroquine on a whim; they took it because they were led to believe - on the basis of ZERO scientific evidence - that it would protect them from COVID-19. |
