My parents, who are in their 90s and living in a retirement residence, tested positive for the Wuhan Flu / Covid19. They are in generally good health for their age, physically, particularly my dad. First symptoms earlier this week. I’ll keep this updated as there are more developments.
Update 1: Pop’s doc, claiming studies linked chloroquine to kidney damage (no specifics given, but likely something like the crappy Brazilian or Swedish studies that used high doses of chloroquine, which is known to be toxic (and why we now use hydroxychloroquine instead)), refuses to proscribe HYDROXYchloroquine or z-pax or anything. He’s already taking a multi-vitamin and some extra D3, so they (pop, doc, my sister, who has power of attorney and is heavily involved in parental support and medical things) don’t think that any additional is needed on that front. Treatment plan is “monitor them, if symptoms worsen call 911 and go to the ER.” My dad, who gives great weight to professional / credentialed opinions, agrees. Sigh. Prayers and hopes that generally good underlying health will suffice. If not, I will not be amused.
Update 2: Latest report is that they are improving steadily. Mom in no discomfort, no more coughing, dad back to sounding grumpy rather than just tired and old. General health signs like blood oxygen and temp are good. Basically, a very minor case or strain of it, and good general health, appears to mean that even without any medication intervention things are generally looking good. Once they have recovered, presumably, because they can no longer catch it, they are likely to be out of lock / quarantine..
Hydroxychloroquine is routinely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, lupis, and malaria; it is considered safe and effective for those purposes. If you were planning a 3-week safari to Africa it would be proscribed prophylacticly without batting an eyelash just four months ago. Long-term or high doses may cause complications, but there are no known short-term use problems except possibly by the following contra-indicators: if you have psoriasis, porphyria, liver disease, alcoholism, or glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency. There is no reason to believe that a drug considered safe for one malady would suddenly not be safe without the same contra-indicators for something else.
The same “experts” who told us it was no problem, and that masks were not needed, are now telling us is the worst thing in a century, and mask are absolutely required. Why are they experts if they can’t get something as basic as that correct? Secondly, the use of HCQ + zinc has been reported as successful for more than two months; why are the so-called experts still bungling and slow-walking studies that would show it as efficacious or not? Fauci is backing a study, even now, that is testing it without zinc, even though the correlation between zinc deficiency and the severity and duration of symptoms (both for this COVID19 and viruses in general) is firmly established if not outright proven. Why are they only getting to this NOW, months after it was first reported so broadly that even an ordinary person like me knows about it? Are they that incompetent, that conflicted, or that evil?
Now to be clear: while my parents are old, the are in generally pretty good physical health, and the severe and fatal cases are overwhelmingly among people with significant underlying conditions. Old age is not a “condition,” like diabetes, high blood pressure, or liver disease, but it’s associated with a lot of those things. I don’t expect my parents to die from it, but I’d like them to get better ASAP because it’s clearly uncomfortable to them.
Biologically, HCQ acts as an ionophore that helps the Zn+2 ion cross the cell membrane, where it interferes with viral replication. Ironically it also acts as a mild imunosuppressant, but considering part of the problem is the cytokine storm from an overly aggressive immune response that fills the lungs with fluid, that’s not a bad thing in this case. The z-pax primarily works to tamp down opportunistic bacterial infections that may occur when taking a mild imunosuppressant.
The drug companies make virtually zero profit on the HCQ treatment – it’s generic and fast-acting. The stand to make far more money with custom, new, patented drugs and vaccines. There is a multi-billion-dollar incentive to not recognize an inexpensive off-the-shelf treatment. Similarly, politicians of the Dem / more-government stripe see no personal benefit in a booming economy and happy, safe, self-assured people. The only way that Trump might not get elected is if he gets blamed for a “bad” handling of the pandemic, and they’ll twist anything he does as “bad.” The pols who seek power need a high body-count, economic devastation, and scared dependents looking for a handout. There is huge political and vested financial interest pressures to obscure and hide the truth of the treatment efficacy. Studies of it have been badly bungled, but always to make HCQ look in the worst possible light, and there are constant delays in creating studies even when we have thousands of new cases diagnosed every day. It’s not rocket science, it’s politicized.
From what I’ve read and seen, there are five related items, for illness in general and this particular illness in specific.
Per Dr Zelenko, for five days:
Hydroxychloroquine 200mg 2x daily
Azithromycin 500mg 1x daily
Zinc sulfate 220mg 1x daily
Per Linus Pauling’s many writings on vitamin C:
Vitamin C, 1,000 mg 5 x daily (spaced out, not all at once) for immune system boost when ill, more if no symptoms like loose stools are noted.
Per various studies with Covid19 and the immune system in general:
Vitamin D3, 5,000 IU once, then 2,500 IU daily for a week
The C and D3 are for general illness, not specific to the Wuhan Flu, beyond the fact that D3 deficiency is strongly correlated with increasing severity of symptoms.
Something I find interesting: it’s really hard to find links to actual study details, even small ones. It’s almost as thought the media and search engines and things like facebook and twitter are trying to hide relevant information for educated people to be able to examine and decide on their own. I’ve seen several studies that got published showing HCQ is bad, seriously ripped apart very quickly as being methodologically flawed, then disappeared or hidden behind a paywall and merely referred to without specifics beyond “a french Study” or “a Chinese study.” Hmmmm.. Wonder why they’d do that? /sarc
Note: Trump’s not wearing a mask, and he’s not catching it. He also admits to taking HCQ+zinc. Things that make you go “hmmmmmm….”.
(small update – just saw a post where Trump states he’s taking it, along with zinc.
Related Study news:
https://news.yahoo.com/zinc-hydroxychloroquine-found-effective-covid-19-patients-study-215732283.html
Even Africa can figure it out.
French study finds anti-malarial and antibiotic combo could reduce COVID-19 duration
HCQ – MUST LISTEN>
How fast does this pandemic end if you could start feeling better in as soon as 5 hours??? pic.twitter.com/LOcbznwV7X
— Vincent Kennedy (@VincentCrypt46) May 15, 2020
https://www.ctpost.com/news/coronavirus/article/Data-70-of-CT-coronavirus-linked-deaths-have-15271386.php
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/san-diego-county-supervisor-says-six-of-194-confirmed-deaths-are-pure-solely-coronavirus-deaths