If hydroxychloroquine could help with Omicron, would politics block its use?
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) may turn out to be one of the most important drugs at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is through the effect of the drug on endosomes within cells.
It must be made clear that from a scientific perspective, I was very upset when this remarkably versatile drug became caught up in a political storm. The politicisation of the situation ensured that scientific perspectives would be skewed and objectivity could be lost.
This was clearly evident in the retracted paper, initially published in the Lancet, demonstrating no benefit for HCQ.
After publication of our Lancet Article, several concerns were raised with respect to the veracity of the data and analyses conducted by Surgisphere Corporation and its founder and our co-author, Sapan Desai, in our publication. We launched an independent third-party peer review of Surgisphere with the consent of Sapan Desai to evaluate the origination of the database elements, to confirm the completeness of the database, and to replicate the analyses presented in the paper.
Mehra, Mandeep R., et al. "RETRACTED: Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis." (2020).
In the context of high Omicron circulation, why could HCQ be of value?
There are two ways for the SARS-COV2 virus to enter cells and lead to infection. The original Wuhan virus and the other variants up to Omicron, all used the furin cleavage site and TMPRSS to enter cells quickly.
Conversely, Omicron utilizes a slower yet more effective entry mechanism through endosomes.
These endosomes can be targeted by HCQ with potential impact on the further spread and persistence of the virus. There are limitations that also need to be considered regarding effectiveness.
Yuan, Zixuan, et al. "Hydroxychloroquine blocks SARS-CoV-2 entry into the endocytic pathway in mammalian cell culture." Communications biology 5.1 (2022): 1-12.
At this stage of the pandemic, all options have to be considered to mitigate spread of the virus. This is especially important in the context of persistent viral infection of the sinuses with Omicron. I proposed this theory a few months ago.
Can our scientific leadership consider doing the correct action for their population, even if it means acknowledgement of error.
Yes, they would.
And already have.
Covid is ALL politics.
Very simple. Emergency Use Authorization which bypass safety studies could have no alternative treatment options. The Pelosi hammer that came down each time you mention early treatment options was to shutter the mass Vax Pfizer cash delivery system to the front of the line. Who studying this thinks any other way at this point. The fraud is laid bare for all to see who care to look. Keep up the hard work. The nexus is where law meets medecine. https://rumble.com/v1qc8zn-p-dr-nass.html