Challenges on Covid-19 decision-3

By Modesto P. Sa-onoy

Drs.  George Fareed and Donald Pompan of California and Michael Jacobs of Florida did not elaborate on the Zelenko protocol in their open letter to Dr. Anthony Fauci. They assumed Fauci knows, or ought to know, about it. For us who do not follow the technical literature this protocol is new.

However research show that Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, a New York based primary care physician, announced in July 2020 that his study “found that early intervention and treatment of risk stratified COVID-19 patients in the outpatient setting resulted in five times less hospitalizations and deaths. The medications used in the treatment approach were zinc, low dose hydroxychloroquine, and azithromycin.”

Imagine Dr. Zelenko’s protocol – five times less hospitalization and deaths with the use of low dose HCQ. If Fauci had known, why did he persist in his claim there is no treatment to avert an international health, social, religious and economic disaster? To reiterate my suspicion, unless Fauci has agenda other than the health of people and nations.

The three doctors also asked Dr. Fauci whether he would “advocate for early pharmacologic outpatient treatment of symptomatic COVID-19 patients if you were confident that it was beneficial.” For ordinary mortals, they would think it cruel, even criminal for a physician to refuse a medication that is beneficial to his patient. The problem here is that by his actuations Fauci did not believe that the early medication that the three American doctors proposed are beneficial. In fact, he considered the HCQ as dangerous, clearly mouthing the discredited article published by Lancet that claimed HCQ is bad.

As if anticipating this response from Fauci, the three doctors posed a succeeding question: Are you aware that there are hundreds of physicians in the United States and thousands across the globe who have had dramatic success (sic) treating high-risk individuals as outpatients with this “cocktail”?

 

As if divining Dr. Fauci’s thoughts, the trio posed another question: If one of your loved ones had diabetes or asthma, or any potentially complicating comorbidity, and tested positive for COVID-19, would you recommend “wait and see how they do” and go to the hospital if symptoms progressed?

They pressed on Fauci. “Even with multiple studies documenting remarkable outpatient efficacy and safety of the Hydroxychloroquine ‘cocktail,’ (do) you believe the risks of the medication combination outweigh the benefits?

Indeed this is a matter for a doctor to consider – benefits against risks.

They reminded Fauci of the latter’s repeated declarations with regard to Hydroxychloroquine and treatment of COVID-19 infection, that “The Overwhelming Evidence of Properly Conducted Randomized Clinical Trials Indicate No Therapeutic Efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).” On the other hand, the three doctors said “none of the randomized controlled trials to which you refer were done in the first 5 to 7 days after the onset of symptoms” and that “all … were done on hospitalized patients.” They pointed out that “hospitalized patients are typically sicker than outpatients.”

 

Not only that. The three doctors claimed that the randomized controlled trials to which Fauci referred in his criticism of the HCQ “used the full cocktail consisting of Hydroxychloroquine, Zinc, and Azithromycin.”

 

In effect they made a lie of Fauci’s claims.

 

Probing deep into Dr. Fauci’s justifications for rejecting HCQ, the three doctors claimed that “while the University of Minnesota study referred to as disproving the cocktail, the meds were not given within the first 5 to 7 days of illness, the test group was not high risk (death rates were 3%), and no zinc was given.”

 

Moreover, they said that “the trials upon which you based your opinion regarding the efficacy of Hydroxychloroquine, assessed neither the full cocktail (to include Zinc + Azithromycin or doxycycline) nor administered treatment within the first 5 to 7 days of symptoms, nor focused on the high-risk group. Therefore, you have no basis to conclude that the Hydroxychloroquine cocktail when used early in the outpatient setting, within the first 5 to 7 days of symptoms, in high risk patients, is not effective.”

 

The controversy among the doctors on the efficacy of the “cocktails” with HCQ can go on forever. In sum, our only demand is for the authorities to give the doctors a free hand to determine what is best for their patients. They know best.*