Hydroxychloroquine For COVID-19: Cure-All Or Flim-Flam?

AFP via Getty ImagesNothing illustrates this better than the battle about hydroxychloroquine (brand name Plaquenil), an anti-malarial drug being used experimentally to treat COVID-19 patients. And we are diagnosing them with COVID19.” This means that people who are dosing themselves with hydroxychloroquine, hoping to prevent infection, are instead putting themselves at risk of cardiovascular and eye damage, and other serious side-effects in exchange for no known benefit. Paramedics transport a patient to the emergency room entrance of the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center ... [+] in Brooklyn on April 02, 2020 in New York. AFP via Getty ImagesYet, numerous US hospitals are using hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients after it was approved by the FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). In these disorders, an over-active immune system gets so ramped up that it can’t stop creating killer cells to fight foreign invaders. This means that, for those with or at risk of severe COVID-19 lung complications, hydroxychloroquine mightbe a good, potentially lifesaving treatment. With only a few small studies to guide treatment, or even identify those who might most benefit, hospitals have reported mixed results . Hospitals in New York City, which has been especially hard hit by the coronavirus, are facing shortages of beds, ventilators and protective equipment for medical staff. Getty ImagesOne of the most dramatic press reports of apparent success came from a skilled nursing facility for veterans in Lebanon, Oregon. Some companies are working on vaccines to help fight the virus in the future, and scientists are employing other strategies against the coronavirus to buy us time.