COVID-19 Fun Facts - Mar 24

[dan_s]

Maybe Chloroquine is the answer.

CNN: As the world's heath experts race to find treatments -- and eventually, a cure -- for the novel coronavirus, two drugs have jumped to the front of the conversation: chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine.

President Donald Trump has called the drugs, which are used to treat malaria and other conditions, game changers, and a rush to procure the pharmaceuticals spurred several US states to take measures to prevent shortages amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

New York moved to begin trials Tuesday, procuring 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine and 750,000 doses of chloroquine, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. In addition, Bayer, the drug maker, has donated 3 million doses of Resochin, its brand name for chloroquine, to the federal government.
Perhaps demonstrating why health officials are urging caution -- saying chloroquine requires further clinical study and might not be the panacea it's billed to be -- officials in Nigeria's Lagos state have reported three overdoses in the days since the drug entered the conversation surrounding the pandemic.
In Arizona, a man died after reportedly taking a nonmedical form of chloroquine used to fight parasites in aquariums. < I guess we can't cure STUPID.
So, what exactly are these drugs, and what promise do they hold?
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/23/health/c ... index.html

[dan_s]

The CDC cited a study, documented in the journal Bioscience Trends this month, that chloroquine phosphate has demonstrated "apparent efficacy and acceptable safety against COVID-19-associated pneumonia" in trials in China.
It is thus considered a recommended antiviral for Covid-19 treatment in China, and several countries are recommending both drugs for hospitalized Covid-19 patients, the CDC said.
Chloroquine also appears to have "broad-spectrum antiviral properties" and effects on immune response, Bayer said in its statement announcing the drug donations.
"New data from initial preclinical and evolving clinical research conducted in China, while limited, shows potential for the use of Resochin in treating patients with COVID-19 infection," the statement said.