It’s Not About Hydroxychloroquine
Jeffrey I. Barke, M.D.
Chloroquine — a derivative of quinine, the extract of the bark of the cinchona tree — was developed in the 1930’s as an alternative for the treatment and prevention of malaria. Malaria, as everyone is aware, is a mosquito-borne illness that has long been the scourge of the world’s tropical regions. During the US Civil war, the Union Army used > 25,000 kg of quinine or other cinchona products to prevent and treat disease.
Chloroquine was first used in a significant way during World War II with troops deployed to the Pacific Theater. Later, soldiers in Vietnam were given weekly doses of chloroquine to prevent them from contracting malaria while on missions in the jungle. All evidence points to its relative success in this usage with only 46 deaths out of more than 50,000 attributed to the disease.
Hydroxychloroquine is a better tolerated and more effective derivative of chloroquine, first approved for use in the United States in 1955. It has been part of the effort of medical science to find a better and more effective way to deal with malaria.
The generic version of hydroxychloroquine has been around for many years and costs only pennies per dose. Studies eventually demonstrated that the drug also showed promise for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus. HCQ, as it is known in the medical field, is now one of the most common drugs used to treat these chronic illnesses. Its mechanism of action within the body is unknown but its safety is unquestioned and it has even been approved by the FDA for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
The research into the use of HCQ in the treatment of Covid-19 has yielded mixed results to date. Recent studies indicated significant benefit, while some previous investigations demonstrated few positive results. But it should be noted that most of these studies did not include the important adjunct supplement of zinc and often was used in the 11th hour in hospitalized patients.
It should further be noted that both The Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine retracted articles that falsely claimed harm from HCQ —the first time both of these reputable journals were simultaneously caught publishing bogus studies. “We can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources,” Mandeep Mehra of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Frank Ruschitzka of University Hospital Zurich, and Amit Patel of University of Utah said in a statement issued by Lancet. In the New England Journal retraction, the authors of their study wrote: “Because [we] were not granted access to the raw data and the raw data could not be made available to a third-party auditor, we are unable to validate the primary data sources underlying our article.”
So what is going on here? Why all the hysteria concerning hydroxychloroquine? I propose three reasons why there has been a dedicated effort to discredit this drug:
The fear and chaos generated by Covid-19 is seen by some political operatives as harmful to President Trump’s re-election prospects. If the combination of HCQ + zinc + Z-pack were to prove an effective treatment for Covid-19 and if HCQ + zinc were to be accepted as an effective preventative, then the Covid-19 pandemic could be quickly brought under control. At that point, President Trump’s March 13th shout out for HCQ would instantly invalidate those who believe his leadership during the crisis has been erratic or irrational. America’s Frontline Doctors, a group of which I am a member, has presented evidence and is making the case that HCQ is an effective option.
If the combination of HCQ + zinc + Z-pack is an effective treatment for Covid-19 and HCQ + zinc is an effective preventative tool, then this very inexpensive and readily available drug would pose a risk to the enormous profits of the far more expensive branded treatment of Remdesivir. Each dose of Remdesivir costs in the thousands of dollars. As the Watergate source referred to as Deep Throat famously told Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, “Follow the money!”
Many pharma companies are racing to get a vaccination to market that will include patents and profit that will reach historic levels. Just remember that America’s Frontline Doctors are advocating for a far simpler and less expensive path forward.
One final point: America’s Frontline Doctors are urging that hydroxychloroquine be designated an over-the-counter drug in the United States, just like it is in many countries around the world. Doing this would take some of the politics out of the treatment of Covid-19.
This disease and this debate is really not about hydroxychloroquine.