DISTRICT
DISTRICT HEALTH BOARD MEETING...DIDN'T REALLY AMOUNT TO MUCH.
NO DECISIONS OR
MANDATES WE MADE.
BUT IT DID STIR UP A
DEBATE AMONG
TREASURE VALLEY
RESIDENTS AND OUR
VIEWERS...SOME LOCAL,
SOME NOT.
DURING THAT THREE
HOUR MEETING ON
TUESDAY...ADAMS COUNTY
COMMISSIONER VIKI
PURDY BROUGHT UP THE
MALARIA DRUG
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE...
AND HOW THEY SHOULD
BE PUSHING IT AS PART OF
THE PROTOCOL TO TREAT
COVID-19.
SHE CLAIMED THERE WAS
A "TSUNAMI" OF STUDIES
THAT SHOW IT WORKS.
HOWEVER...AS WE
POINTED OUT THAT
DAY...THERE'S MORE
EVIDENCE THAT SHOWS
OTHERWISE.
AND EVEN THOSE THAT
SHOW THE USE OF
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE
TO BATTLE COVID-19...CAN
CAUSE HEART, KIDNEY, OR
LIVER PROBLEMS.
WHEN WE ASKED
COMMISSIONER PURDY
ABOUT HER
RESEARCH...SHE SENT US
AN EMAIL AND A LINK TO
A FRONTLINE DOCTOR
SUMMIT WEBSITE.
THE SAME FRONTLINE
DOCTORS WHOSE
CREDENTIALS HAVE BEEN
QUESTIONED AND THEIR
WEBSITE REMOVED.
ALSO IN HER
EMAIL...COMMISIONER
PURDY SAID THERE ARE
THOUSANDS OF DOCTORS
ALL OVER THE COUNTRY
THAT COULD GIVE US A
BETTER INTERVIEW ON
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE
THAN SHE CAN.
SO WE ASKED ONE.
DOCTOR SKY BLUE IS AN
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
SPECIALIST WHO WORKS
WITH ST. LUKE'S AND
SEVERAL OTHER
HOSPITALS IN THE VALLEY.
WE THOUGHT WE WOULD
TAKE COMMISSIONER
PURDY'S CLAIMS TO HIM
TO FIND OUT IF THEY
WERE TRUE...AND GET A
BREAK DOWN ON HOW
WE GOT HERE WITH
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE.
WE WERE TOTALLY ON
BOARD WITH HCQ EARLY
ON, AND WHEN WE SAW
THIS AS A NEW DISEASE
COMING OUT, WE WERE
GRASPING AT STRAWS AS
WELL AND VERY EARLY ON
THERE WAS SOME DATA
COMING OUT OF CHINA
SAYING, YEAH, HCQ IT
MIGHT HAVE SOME
EFFECT.
EFFECT. IT WAS REALLY WHAT I CALL DIRTY DATA BECAUSE BASICALLY THEY
WERE THROWING OUT
EVERYTHING AT IT TO SEE
WHAT WOULD STICK
OUR TREATMENT
PROTOCOLS AT THAT
STAGE PRETTY MUCH GAVE
HCQ TO EVERYBODY IN
THE
THE HOSPITAL, SO WE WERE USING IT THEN AS IT STARTED TO
BE USED PRETTY WIDELY
WE STARTED SEEING THESE
RETROSPECTIVE REPORTS,
MEANING THAT THEY
LOOK BACK ON WHO WAS
GIVEN THIS HCQ
AND SO AS THE
RETROSPECTIVE DATA
STARTED TO COME IN IT
DIDN'T LOOK QUITE AS
GOOD AS INITIAL, AND
ALSO THERE WERE
REPORTS
REPORTS OF HARM FROM IT AS YOU GIVE IT TO A WIDER GROUP AND
INCREASING NUMBER OF
THEM
AND WHAT WE REALLY
NEED IS A RANDOMIZED
CONTROL TRIAL THE KIND
THAT LOOK FORWARD
AND HAD A PLACEBO ARM
OR SOMEHOW CONTROL
FOR THOSE AREAS OF BIAS
AND AS THOSE
RANDOMIZED CONTROL
TRIALS STARTED TO COME
IN IT WAS REALLY NOT
SHOWING THE BENEFIT
THAT WE WANTED WITH
THAT
AT THAT STAGE IN MY
MIND THIS SHIFTED THE
BURDEN OF PROOF,
SAYING THAT WE DON'T
WANT
WANT TO
WANT TO DO HARM. WE'VE HAD RANDOMIZED CONTROL TIME TRIALS
NOW THAT AREN'T
SHOWING THE BENEFIT.
THE FDA SAYS THIS IS NOT
MEETING THE STANDARDS
OF THEM TO HAVE AN
EUA, AND SO AT THIS
STAGE THAT'S KIND OF
WHERE
WHERE WE'RE AT DR BLUE SAYS THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF SMALLER
TRIALS DONE, WITH
MAYBE 48 PATIENTS HERE,
ANOTHER 150 PATIENTS
THERE, THAT HAVE
SHOWN BENEFITS.
BUT HE SAYS EVEN THOSE
STUDIES CONTAINED
BIASES, LIKE THE USE OF
ZINC, OR NOT.
AND THE IDEA THAT
YOU'RE NOT GIVING IT
WITH ZINC, HENRY FORD
WASNT USING ZINC. THE
ONES LOOKING AT ZINC
THEN
THEN AREN'T LOOKING AT NO THERAPY AT ALL AND OFTEN THE ONES WHO
ARE GETTING ZINC ARE
THE
THE ONES
THE ONES WHO ARE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO SAY 'HEY, I WANT ZINC' AND 'I
CAN TAKE THIS
SUPPLEMENT, ETC.' OR
THEY'RE OUTPATIENT
ONLY AND THAT'S WHERE
YOU HAVE A REALLY LOW
MORTALITY
MORTALITY ANYWAY, AND IF YOU'RE JUST COMPARING THOSE TO
HISTORICAL CONTROLS
WHAT HAPPENED IN THE
PAST, THIS DISEASE
CHANGES ON A MONTH
TO MONTH BASIS
YOU KNOW WEEK TO
WEEK BASIS
SO THE BASIC STANCE
RIGHT NOW IS AFTER YOU
WALKED US THROUGH
THIS TIMELINE IS THE
BENEFITS DON'T
OUTWEIGH THE
POTENTIAL FOR HARM
PROVEN BENEFITS HAVE
NOT OUTWEIGHED THE
POTENTIAL FOR HARM
AND IF YOU'RE GIVING IT
TO A VERY LARGE NUMBER
VERY EARLY IN INFECTION
THEY ARE LOT LESS LIKELY
TO BE HOSPITALIZED OR
DIE FROM IT
SO THOSE POTENTIAL
HARMS LOOM PRETTY
LARGE
BOTTOM LINE IS ST LUKES
IS NOT USING THIS
TREATMENT
TREATMENT WE DO NOT HAVE IT AS A RECOMMENDED IN A
PROTOCOL IN FACT OUR
PROTOCOLS AT ST LUKES
SAY WE RECOMMEND
AGAINST USING IT
BECAUSE THE DATA IS NOT
CONCLUSIVE A BENEFIT
OVER HARM
WE DON'T SAY YOU CAN'T
USE IT WE JUST SAY IT IS
NOT RECOMMEND FROM
OUR REVIEW AND NOW IT
IS NOT AUTHORIZED
UNDER
UNDER THE
UNDER THE USE OF THE EMERGENCY AUTHORIZATION BY THE
FDA FOR THAT
AND WHAT ABOUT THE
CLAIMS THAT THERE'S A
BIG MONEY CONSPIRACY
TO STOP PEOPLE FROM
USING IT?
DR BLUE SAYS THAT'S JUST
NOT THE CASE.
THEY HAVE THE DRUG TO
USE...BUT NOBODY IS
PAYING THEM TO NOT
USE IT.
IT FEELS LIKE EVERYBODY
WANT THIS THING SOLVED
RIGHT NOW AND THEY
WILL GRAB ANYTHING
THAT SEEMS TO FIT THAT
BILL
SURE, I'M RIGHT ON
THERE TOO, I'D LIKE TO
LOOK AT ANYTHING THAT
SEEMS TO HELBUT
WHEN WE START TO HAVE
THINGS
THINGS THAT SAY, WELL, IT DOESN'T HELP AND MAY CAUSE HARM THEN I'M
LOOKING FOR
SOMETHING ELSE. YOU
KNOW, IT'S FUNNY TO ME
THAT IT'S THE EXACT SAME
PEOPLE THAT SAY DON'T
WEAR A MASK. WHEN
THAT IS THE KERNEL THAT
EVEN HELPS PREVENT THIS
WITH A LOT LESS SIDE
EFFECTS THAN WHAT
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
WITH HCQ AND ZINC AND
PROBABLY EVEN CHEAPER
STILL
AND IF THERE WAS A BIG
PHARMA THAT WAS
BEHIND TRYING TO KEEP
US FROM USING HCQ I'M
NOT SURE WHY THEY
WOULDN'T BE
SQUELCHING MASK USE AT
THE SAME TIME
WHEN I ASKED DOCTOR
BLUE
BLUE ABOUT COMMISSIONER PURDY'S CLAIM THAT
PEOPLE...ESPECIALLY
MINORITIES...SHOULD
PEOPLE...ESPECIALLY MINORITIES...SHOULD MAKE UP FOR THEIR
VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY BY
TAKING VITAMIN D...AND
WOULD THAT HELP THEM
FIGHT COVID?
HE SAID...MAYBE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF
FACTORS WITH THAT.
THOSE WHO HAVE
DEFICIENCIES OF ANY
SORT...CAN SOMETIMES
HAVE OTHER HEALTH
ISSUES AND THERE IS NO
DATA TO BACK UP THAT
CLAIM.
CORRELATION DOES NOT
MEAN CAUSATION.
HE SAID THE BEST TRIALS
SO FAR HAVE HAD
SEVERAL THOUSAND
PATIENTS INVOLVED...BUT
EVEN THE BIG ONES
STOPPED THE STUDY
BECAUSE IT WASN'T
SHOWING ENOUGH
EFFECTIVENESS.
DOCTOR BLUE ALSO SAID
HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES
REVIEWS TRIALS AND
STUDIES EVERY
WEEK...AND SO FAR...THE
CONSENSUS IS THE SAME.
THE BENEFITS OF
HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE...
DON'T OUTWEIGH THE
RISKS.