Hydroxychloroquine is trending again. Still there is no cure for COVID-19

Hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug that has been used for decades to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, is not a cure for COVID-19. A series of studies, less than a week Published in The authoritative scientific journal Nature, Demonstrated that the drug has no substantial antiviral activity. And More data Involved in human clinical trials, hydroxychloroquine continues to be in short supply. very short. It also does not protect or treat COVID-19.

So why did it come back to the news again?

It seems to be mostly due to a series of viral video Published by right-wing publication Breitbart and widely shared across social media. Facebook And Twitter.

On Monday, a contingent of doctors dressed in lab coats and calling themselves “American Frontline Doctors,” held a summit on the steps of the US Supreme Court in Washington. The summit is organized by the right-wing Tea Party Patriot Foundation and is intended to run for two days.

A “front-line doctor” video advocating the use of hydroxychloroquine as a “treatment” outside the Supreme Court began popping up online Monday afternoon. I decided not to link Analysis by NBC Internet Reporter It shows that it has been viewed more than 20 million times on Facebook.

In particular, Houston doctor and preacher Stellaine Manuel caught the lion’s attention, causing hot debate about the use of hydroxychloroquine in the 350 patients who visited her clinic. Watched millions of times on Facebook and even tweeted by Donald Trump Jr. US President Donald Trump also retweeted the video.

As a result, Immanuel’s number of personal followers on Twitter increased by about 30,000 over the course of hours. Twitter has begun to delete videos related to the Summit, including Immanuel’s.

The spotlight was placed in a speech in Immanuel, but according to Andrew McClachlan of the Sydney Pharmacy School at the University of Sydney, hydroxychloroquine was primarily a non-scientific word to claim that it could cure COVID-19. I’m using.

“Passion and anecdotes do not provide compelling evidence for the safety and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19,” he says.

“Good evidence of practice comes from carefully controlled research, scrutiny of results, and peer reviews to ensure that findings and claims are secure and correct.”

McLachlan also states that hydroxychloroquine is the most widely investigated drug for COVID-19, based on a number of active trials. He is pointing Recovery trial, Led by Oxford University as one of the most rigorous. There was no significant difference in mortality and no benefit was seen for patients admitted with COVID-19. Still, it continues to be pushed as a viable treatment option in various sections of the media, including Breitbert and others.

Scientists say the argument is vague due to intense politics.

“It’s abnormal to see [the] Gaetan Burgio, a geneticist at the Australian National University in Canberra, said that despite the overwhelming evidence of that, the hydroxychloroquine agenda is being pushed forward.

June, Food and Drug Administration Canceled emergency use of hydroxychloroquine In the case of COVID-19 patients, based on increasing evidence, it does not provide clinical benefit and in some cases can lead to heart problems. There are also famous studies, Published in The Lancet in May, Suggests that hydroxychloroquine caused an increase in mortality. Even that Persuaded WHO to pause Its hydroxychloroquine test. However, the study became controversial after it was discovered that much of the data used in the study was produced. It was later withdrawn.

Aside from withdrawal, objections to the use of hydroxychloroquine extend to the beginning of the pandemic. The idea that it may be a useful drug for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 has been increasingly scrutinized in more powerful and more important clinical trials.

In short, there is overwhelming evidence that hydroxychloroquine does not work. Being viral on the internet doesn’t change.