Status of current hydroxychloroquine + zinc clinical trials

Do you know what the definition of insanity is?  Repeating the same action over and over again and expecting a different result.  That is what I felt like when I read the article heading “England rationing remdesivir for the most sickest patients”.  That England was just repeating the same mistakes that politicians have been making for the past 6 months.

It is like spinning the slots again and again at SlotoCash Casino sure that the next spin will bring the mega jackpot.  If our governments (all over the world) don’t stop, go back to the beginning, and relook at the data, they are going to continue to make the same mistakes that they were making for the last 6 months.

History of hydroxychloroquine + zinc treatment

Since the middle of March, 2020, doctors have made observational studies that when hydroxychloroquine + zinc + antibiotics + vitamin D + vitamin C is given to patients within the first 5 days of showing symptoms, it reduces the viral load on the patient, and prevents the virus from progressing to the more critical stage.

Why do some people consider COVID-19 as two separate viruses?

The one major difference from COVID-19 and a lot of other viruses is that starting at day 6 from when symptoms first appear, the virus changes to essentially a completely different virus.

During the first phase, within the first 5 days of symptoms appearing, the virus’s symptoms appear like a lot of other flu (and bad cold viruses) fever, muscle aches, exhaustion, etc. with the exception of pains in the chest and starting to have difficulty breathing.

It is during this beginning phase that it is critical for the patient to begin treatment, because it helps to prevent the virus from progressing to the second phase.  It does not cure COVID-19 (like antibiotics cure).  It just prevents the virus from getting a worse.  The patient is still sick,  The patient still needs to quarantine.  The patient still needs to rest and let the body heal itself.

But once the second phase kicks in, the patient needs to be admitted to the hospital, go to an ICU unit, and if things get even worse, be put on a respirator.

That is why the “reserving treatment for the sickest patients” is the exact opposite of what doctors should be doing.  I am not talking about hoarding or the “just in case” people.  I am talking about the ones who show symptoms and within the first 5 days of the illness (especially the symptom of having trouble breathing).

Have any double blind clinical trials been completed?

Yes, a clincial trial “to evaluate the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in reducing progression of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID - 19) and achieving viral clearance” in military personnnel.  The clinical trial was conducted at Pak Emirates Military Hospital Rawalpindi, Pakistan.  The results of this clinical trial are in.

Both the control group and the test group were given a standard treatment of “daily standard doses of oral Vit C (2g), Vit D (alfacalcidiol 1µg), Zinc (50mg) and paracetamol (as required).”

Standard treatment was “Standard of care (SOC) treatment comprised of daily oral Vit C (2gms), oral Zinc (50mg), oral Vit-D (alfacalcidol 1ug) and tablet Paracetamol (for body aches/fever), intravenous fluids, hemodynamic monitoring, and laboratory testing for SARS-CoV-2 and baseline blood parameters”

Experimental treatment was given standard treatment plus “Patients selected in intervention arm were given HCQ in addition to standard of care treatment. After 12 hours of randomization, HCQ was given. A standard dose of HCQ was 400 mg by mouth twice a day for day one followed by 200 mg 12 hourly for the next 5 days.”

Phase 1 checked for “After the start of treatment, development of fever > 101 F for > 72 hours, shortness of breath by minimal exertion (10-Step walk test), derangement of basic lab parameters (ALC < 1000 or raised CRP) or appearance of infiltrates on CXR during the course of treatment was labeled as progression irrespective of PCR status” (Day 5 check).

Phase 2 checked “PCR negativity on day 7 and 14 after admission”.

What were the test results for the hydroxychloroquine clinical trial completed on August 21, 2020, in Pakistan?

There were 540 patients being observed between the ages of 18 to 65, the group many people are saying should NOT be in lockdown, because they are not a high risk if they get the virus.  All of the participants were hospital admittance, but with mild symptoms.  They had not yet progressed to moderate, severe or critical patients.  They also did not have comorbidity with a life expectancy of less than 6 months.

180 were in the control group  360 were in the experimental group.  4 in the control group and 1 in the intervention group developed a fever for greater than 3 days (became worse, so they had to be moved to other treatments).

After 5 days, number of patients with progression: “After start of treatment, development of fever > 101 F for > 72 hours, shortness of breath by minimal exertion (10-Step walk test), derangement of basic lab parameters (ALC < 1000 or raised CRP) or appearance of infiltrates on CXR during the course of treatment was labeled as progression irrespective of PCR status”

In the control group, 5 patients progressed in the severity of the virus. (3.3%)

In the experimental group, 11 patients progressed in the severity of the virus. (3.2%)

Viral clearance after 14 days has not yet been reported.

Summary

Since it does not say what percentage of the 100% non-treatment group progressed to becoming worse, it is hard for the lay person to fully understand this.

But from what I can read, treatment of “daily oral Vit C (2gms), oral Zinc (50mg), oral Vit-D (alfacalcidol 1ug) and tablet Paracetamol (for body aches/fever), intravenous fluids” seems to have an impact for a majority of patients between 18 and 60 who are sick enough to need to go to the hospital, but are still early on, do not have other conditions (expected to die within 6 months).  Except for the intravenous fluids, everything else a patient can take over the counter, and obtain from any drug store.

Which is good, because the less patients that end up in the hospital, the less our hosptials will be overwhelmed and more space, resources, and specialized drugs can be reserved for the more severe patients.

What are the results for the other three recent clinical trials for HCQ plus zinc?

There have been 3 other clinical trials that have been completed recently, but the results have not yet been posted.

Migrant workers in a high risk group

This test was designed to test for prevention of COVID-19 in an environment where high risk people are living in close quarters.  This could be a college dorm or a nursing home.

The study was completed on September 14, 2020, but the results have not yet been posted.  Hopefully, the results will be posted online by the end of October.

How can I find our about more clinical trials being conducted for COVID-19?

All formal clinical trials are listed on the website https://clinicaltrials.gov/

Just type in COVID-19 for the disease being searched and then in the other field, just type in whatever drugs or other criteria you want to search.  When the search results come up, you can then refine the search results by location or if the study is still admitting patients or completed or withdrawn.

Summary

Even if it turns out that HCQ does nothing, what these clinical trials do show is that “standard treatment” is working, and if it is started even earlier, in a non-hospital setting, it would help even more.

• Zinc 50mg (11 mg daily recommended)
• Vitamin C 2gms (90 mg daily recommendation)
• Vitamin D alfacalcidol 1mcg  (15 mcg)
• Paracetamol (fever reducing, pain reliever, as needed)
• lots of fluids (aka, good old fashioned grandma’s chicken soup)

All of those items are over the counter and available in any drug store.

But the zinc and vitamin C is at much higher dosage than the daily recommended amount, and vitamin C is usually not included in a regular daily multivitamin.

So although most of these items are available over the counter, they are not usually taken at the levels needed through regular diet or even a regular multi-vitamin supplement.