Leaked White House emails reveal behind the scenes battle over chloroquine in coronavirus response

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: CNBC

WASHINGTON – Trump White House appointees pressured government health officials to make an unproven malaria drug available to the public to treat the disease caused by the new coronavirus without a doctor's supervision, according to internal emails published by Vanity Fair on Friday.

The pressure tactics caused panic and pushback from scientists and doctors at several federal health agencies, who refused to suspend drug regulations in order to distribute the potentially dangerous treatment to the public outside of hospitals.

The report adds a new layer to the looming crisis facing the Trump administration over its efforts to promote and procure drugs containing chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine. Long used to treat malaria and select auto-immune diseases, chloroquine has not been proven effective to treat Covid-19.

On Friday, CNBC reported on the findings of a clinical trial of chloroquine that was halted amid safety concerns after researchers cited a "primary outcome" of death among patients who were given high doses of chloroquine.



Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/leaked-white-house-emails-reveal-behind-the-scenes-battle-over-chloroquine-in-coronavirus-response/ar-BB13a09p?li=BBnb7Kz

[Iliyah]

1. Leaks, oh my . . . . .

WH, staff, administration and cabinet, and of course the republican party - all are at WOW, I didn't know, we were blindsided, what a surprise, we are the victims.

The only thing republicans care about is money and power. Apparently all they see are the "polling" and right now it ain't good. Damn to over 51,000 dead, who cares.

[Lonestarblue]

2. A man who pushes drugs and dangerous disinfectant treatment does not belong in the Oval Office.

Can the American people somehow insist that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation? It just is not normal for any mentally competent person to suggest that people ingest bleach. I know Republicans will never exercise the 25th Amendment, but good God this man is a dangerous nutcase whose crazy actions have helped cause thousands of deaths.

[Ford_Prefect]

5. Why do you suppose his patrons arranged to have him there in the 1st place?

Why do they keep empowering him and enabling anything he says?

I'm sure you know the answer. They don't have time for camps so they're combining the torture and the elimination as efficiently as they can, and leaving the cleanup to us, as well.

The dead cannot vote, either.

[C Moon]

3. Check out this bull crap "top of the news" story from the other night...

Channel 9 News Los Angeles.

Torrance Doctor Recovers From Coronavirus, Credits Z-Pack/Zinc/Hydroxychloroquine Treatments
https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2020/04/21/torrance-doctor-recovers-from-coronavirus-credits-z-pack-zinc-hydroxychloroquine-treatments/

I looked the doctor up, and she runs a Med Spa in Torrance (laser hair removal, weight loss, Botox, etc).
Past business ventures:

• co-founded a healthcare technology company Sphinx Medical Technologies Inc (an app for doctors and patients)
• the creator and owner of Spare My Hair, which is a hair loss products to help the treatment of thinning hair
• created and co-founded a natural product for the management of female sexual dysfunction and menopausal women, Sexy Wipes Inc.

Makes me wonder if she has a financial interest in Hydroxychloroquine, or was paid to do what looks like an advertisement on the news.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Because science and lives do not matter to Greed Over People. . . . . nt

[underpants]

6. Not an excuse but Trump has never had to deal with this

He’s never told NO. He wasn’t in his bubble for years. Even today the WH staff and military brass treat him like a brat or a nest of hornets. One false move and there’s no telling what will happen.

There have been many stories of military options not being presented to him or shuffled to hide the worst option but they are worried he might pick it. The staff is on pins and needles constantly. Just this week we read that they are coming up with ideas to get him out of the WH on some sort of trip.

He has been able to make decisions that are bad but none have to be reviewed BELOW him. Medical decisions that have to get clearance regardless of politics let alone his stupid flippant last thing he heard on Fox or OAN.

[KT2000]

7. why is it acceptable to treat

patients in VA hospitals with hydroxychloroquine when it increases death rates? Does someone have to use up a supply that was meant to make someone rich?

[iluvtennis]

8. I think you're on to something with that. It's trump/gop modus operandi - wealth over health. nt

[Progressive Jones]

9. How did this drug come up as a possibility in the first place? nt

[chowder66]

10. GQ wrote this article about your question

So why has Trump become so fixated on this drug? The idea that hydroxychloroquine could treat coronavirus started to take root in the U.S. in Silicon Valley in mid-March, as Wired documented at the time. On March 13, a blockchain investor named James Todaro tweeted, "There is growing evidence of Chloroquine as a highly effective treatment for COVID-19," and linked to a Google Doc he and others wrote making the case. One of his coauthors, lawyer Gregory Rigano, went on Laura Ingraham's Fox News show to promote the idea on March 16. And the next day, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted to his 33 million followers, "Maybe worth considering chloroquine for C19," followed by "Hydroxychloroquine probably better." The message was retweeted 13,700 times.

The first time Trump mentioned the drug was at a March 19 press briefing, where he said of it, "It's been around for a long time, so we know if things don't go as planned, it's not going to kill anybody." By March 21, he was much more enthusiastic, tweeting, "HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE & AZITHROMYCIN, taken together, have a real chance to be one of the biggest game changers in the history of medicine."

According to Media Matters, from March 23–29, Fox aired claims promoting the use of hydroxychloroquine 147 times, while only airing 18 claims questioning its effectiveness. Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz—who has promoted dubious weight-loss scams and whose children are unvaccinated—has appeared on Fox News more than 20 times in two weeks hyping the drug. Oz points to one dubious French study from Marseille in particular, conducted by Didier Raoult, a French doctor who has previously questioned the validity of both climate change and evolution.


https://www.gq.com/story/trump-coronavirus-miracle-cure

[qwlauren35]

11. Thanks for the history.

This is helpful to know.

[chowder66]

12. You're welcome. : )

[Progressive Jones]

13. Thanks for the article. nt

[chowder66]

14. : )

[Hekate]

15. "A primary outcome of death" sounds like the entire Trump cabal. nt