Tag: medicine
Studies: Trump's Fake COVID 'Cure' Killed Nearly 17,000 Americans(VIDEO)

Studies: Trump's Fake COVID 'Cure' Killed Nearly 17,000 Americans(VIDEO)

Donald Trump began shilling for the use of hydroxychloroquine at the very first of what became his daily White House update on the COVID-19 pandemic. The drug is primarily used as an anti-parasitic, mostly in the treatment of malaria, and there was never any good evidence that it was effective in addressing COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine can lower the number of infection-fighting white blood cells, making it possibly the worst type of medication for anyone trying to fight off an infection.

However, in the earliest days of the pandemic, Trump declared the drug a “game changer” and began stockpiling millions of pills. Under pressure from Trump and TV host Dr. Oz, the FDA authorized emergency use of hydroxychloroquine as a potential treatment for COVID-19. The drug didn’t work. The U.S. ended up with a mountain of worthless pills. And Trump went right on promoting its use long after the FDA officially warned consumers not to use it.

It’s impossible to know how much Trump’s promise that hydroxychloroquine was an effective treatment caused people to disregard the threat of COVID-19 or how much this opened the door to conspiracy theories about vaccines. But a new study in Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy puts an estimated number on deaths directly resulting from the use of this drug to treat COVID-19 patients: 16,990.

That hydroxychloroquine was more likely to kill than to cure was known very early. A study released just one month after Trump began promoting the drug showed that patients given Trump’s wonder treatment were more likely to die. The treatment was found to have a strong association with heart issues, and the results were so clear and overwhelming that the trial use of the drug was suspended ahead of schedule.

Those same results have now been confirmed by researchers in France who looked at the use of hydroxychloroquine across six countries. In all cases, the use of the drug with COVID-19 patients increased the rate of deaths. Overall, patients who were administered hydroxychloroquine were 11 percent more likely to die than those who were not.

Of course, there was one brilliant paper later cited by Trump that concluded treatment with hydroxychloroquine “improves survival by over 100 percent” even though 78 percent of the people in the study died. That’s science, people. Science that shockingly never made it into an actual peer-reviewed journal.

Due to the level of promotion hydroxychloroquine received, that 11 percent increased rate of death extends across millions of patients, both in the U.S. and overseas. In some locations, as many as 84 percentof patients diagnosed with symptomatic COVID-19 were prescribed hydroxychloroquine.

The result is that an estimated 16,990 people died unnecessarily.

As scientists behind the study conclude, the story of hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 illustrates “the hazard of drug repurposing with low-level evidence.” But it wasn’t the only time Trump declared that something unrelated would provide a cure for COVID-19. Trump also promoted the horse deworming medicine ivermectin, which led to a run on the treatment at farm supply stores. Trump also pushed the use of convalescent plasma before any trials had shown it was effective.

The plasma idea, unlike the use of a malaria drug or horse paste, at least had the benefit of being based on a somewhat reasonable theory. However, it still didn’t work. And, as should go without saying, neither did the dewormer.

Because Donald Trump can never be wrong, plenty of other Republicans were happy to hop on the quack medicine train. That included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

For his new surgeon general, DeSantis went straight to hydroxychloroquine promoter, anti-masker, and anti-vaccine guy Dr. Joseph Ladapo. That would be this guy:

Lapado was back in the news this week after he appeared on Steve Bannon’s show to tell people to stop getting vaccinated. Because mRNA vaccines are an affront to God.

Thanks to his sage advice and the guiding wisdom of DeSantis, Florida ended up with its own unused stockpile of hydroxychloroquine. DeSantis bought one million doses from Israel, so the fact that the number of leftover pills was listed as “thousands” is disturbing. Nearly 87,000 people died of COVID-19 in Florida. How many of them were given ineffective snake oil rather than a vaccine that Ladapo finds spiritually offensive?

Overall, it seems clear that hydroxychloroquine is a killer, not a cure, when it comes to COVID-19. But still, it’s not as big a threat as Trump, DeSantis, and Ladapo.

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.

Diggin’ In: Long History Of Herbs To Spice Up Food, Health

Diggin’ In: Long History Of Herbs To Spice Up Food, Health

By Kathy Van Mullekom, Daily Press (Newport News, Va.) (TNS)

In the 17th- and 18th-century garden, herbs were an important part of the vegetable plot, growing side-by-side with peas, carrots and lettuces, and then harvested and used in cooking, dye and soap making and herbal medicine.

Today those crops are grown in demonstration raised beds at Virginia’s Jamestown Settlement and Yorktown Victory Center, where historical interpreters do the same as part of the living-history museum experience for visitors.

It goes to show that history often repeats itself — today’s raised-bed vegetable patches are again popular and practical for small-space, easy-access gardening. Even many of the crops are the same.

For home gardens, Jamestown Settlement historical interpreter Pat Leccadito recommends parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, and peppermint, spearmint and lemon balm, which colonists also favored. All of these can be grown indoors in pots as well as outdoors, she adds.

“The majority of vegetables and herbs grown in the 17th century are grown today,” she says.

“Kitchen herbs grown in England were cultivated in Virginia.”

In fact, an advertisement from the Virginia Gazette newspaper dated October 22, 1772, according to interpreters at Yorktown, states, “Imported in the last ships from Britain, and to be sold by the subscriber at Norfolk, a large and complete assortment of garden seeds, also tools; he likewise furnishes plants and herbs of all kinds in their respective seasons.”

Visitors are always welcome to explore the gardens and talk with historical interpreters, according to Debby Padgett, spokeswoman for the two historical sites. Garden-themed private tours are available with reservations.

At the Yorktown Victory Center, this year’s field crops are growing on a limited basis while a huge expansion and transition is underway at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. The entire project, including a reconstructed and enhanced Revolution-period farm, will be complete late 2016, she says.

Useful herbs

Commonly-used herbs and medicinal plants in the 18th-century, according to Jamestown and Yorktown historical interpreters, include:

Rosemary: An ancient medicinal and culinary herb, rosemary is a Mediterranean shrub that found its way to America with early settlers. The plant has long been valued as a stimulant and tonic. It also “quickens a weak memory and the senses,” according to “Culpeper’s Complete Herbal,” originally published in the 17th century.

Cloves: Cloves are the unopened buds of the tropical clove tree, used medicinally and as a spice. The clove bud, when crushed, releases oil that is both anesthetic and antiseptic. It is used for toothaches and indigestion.

Oak gall: Caused by a gall-wasp puncturing the bark of the oak and laying eggs inside, galls are astringent and antiseptic.
“The white gall binds and dries,…yet is good against the dysentery and bloody flux,” also according to “Culpeper’s Complete Herbal.”

Cayenne pepper: Native to tropical America and Africa, it was used medicinally as well as a seasoning. The oil from the peppers was used for salves and to help clear congestion. Modern Capsaicin, which contains capsicum, is from the peppers. It is rubbed on sore joints and muscles.

Tobacco: Grown primarily as a cash crop throughout the 17th and most of the 18th century. Tobacco was also used medicinally. The juice was used as a purgative. The juice was also used on insect stings and bites. The smoke was used for constipation.

Sassafras: This was one of the first native plants to be exported. Sassafras tea was used as a stimulant and antispasmodic; sassafras is the flavoring in root beer.

Mint: There are thought to be at least 30 species of mint, all of which have been highly valued for their medicinal properties since earliest times. By the 18th century, various species were used as a cure for colic and digestive odors.

Willow bark: The bark of the white willow contains salicin, from which acetylsalicylic acid is derived, the main ingredient in aspirin. Needless to say, willow bark was used for headaches or to lower fevers.

Vinegar: Made from apple cider. Many farms had a small apple orchard, and the primary use of the apples was for the making of cider. When the cider turned, it became vinegar, which was used as a preservative as well as medicinally. The benefits of a daily tablespoon of cider vinegar mixed with water are very much in today’s health news.

Herbs 101
_ Herbs need sun and well-drained soil.
_ Regular pruning and good air circulation around plants helps keep them healthy.
_ Herbs are easily dried by cutting and hanging them in bunches to dry in a cool, dark place; when the herbs easily crumble, store them in airtight containers.
_ Foliage on herbs can be cut into small pieces and placed in baggies to freeze for later use in dishes; herbs can also be frozen in ice cube trays and dropped into soups, sauces and stews.
_ Learn more about herbs with the American Herb Society at www.herbsociety.org.
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(Kathy Van Mullekom is the garden/home columnist for the Daily Press in Newport News, Va. Follow her on Facebook@Kathy Hogan Van Mullekom, on Twitter @diggindirt and at Pinterest@digginin. Email her at kvanmullekom@aol.com.)

Vaccine Success Holds Hope For End To Deadly Scourge Of Ebola

Vaccine Success Holds Hope For End To Deadly Scourge Of Ebola

By Kate Kelland and Tom Miles

LONDON/GENEVA (Reuters) — The world is on the verge of being able to protect humans against Ebola, the World Health Organization said on Friday, as a trial in Guinea found a vaccine to have been 100 percent effective.

Initial results from the trial, which tested Merck (MRK.N) and NewLink Genetics’ (NLNK.O) VSV-ZEBOV vaccine on some 4,000 people who had been in close contact with a confirmed Ebola case, showed complete protection after 10 days.

The results were described as “remarkable” and “game changing” by global health specialists.

“We believe that the world is on the verge of an efficacious Ebola vaccine,” WHO vaccine expert Marie Paule Kieny told reporters in a briefing from Geneva.

The vaccine could now be used to help end the worst recorded outbreak of Ebola, which has killed more than 11,200 people in West Africa since it began in December 2013.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the results, published online in the medical journal The Lancet, would “change the management of the current Ebola outbreak and future outbreaks.”

The Gavi Alliance, which buys vaccines in bulk for poor countries who struggle to afford them, immediately said it would back an Ebola shot once it is approved.

“These communities need an effective vaccine sooner rather than later,” Gavi’s chief executive Seth Berkley said. “We need to be ready to act wherever the virus is a threat.”

This and other vaccine trials were fast-tracked with huge international effort as researchers raced to test potential therapies and vaccines while the virus was still circulating.

“It was a race against time and the trial had to be implemented under the most challenging circumstances,” said John-Arne Røttingen of Norway’s Institute of Public Health, chair of the trial’s steering group.

“Ring Vaccination”

The Guinea trial began on March 23 to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of a single dose of VSV-ZEBOV using a so-called “ring vaccination” strategy, where close contacts of a person diagnosed with Ebola are immunized — either immediately, or at a later date.

As data began to emerge showing the very high protection rates in those vaccinated immediately, however, researchers decided on July 26 that they would no longer use the “delayed” strategy, since it was becoming clear that making people wait involved unethical and unnecessary risk.

The trial is now being continued, with all participants receiving the vaccine immediately, and will be extended to include 13- to 17-year-olds and possibly also 6- to 12-year-old children, the WHO said.

Jeremy Farrar, a leading infectious disease specialist and director of the Wellcome Trust, said the trial “dared to use a highly innovative and pragmatic design, which allowed the team in Guinea to assess this vaccine in the middle of an epidemic.”

“Our hope is that this vaccine will now help bring this epidemic to an end and be available for the inevitable future Ebola epidemics,” his statement said.

The medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which has led the fight against Ebola in West Africa, called for VSV-ZEBOV to be rolled out to the other centers of the outbreak, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where it says it could break chains of transmission and protect front-line health workers.

VSV-ZEBOV was originally developed by Canada’s public health agency before being licensed to NewLink Genetics, which then signed a deal handing Merck the responsibility to research, develop, manufacture, and distribute it.

The success of the Guinea trial is a big relief for researchers, many of whom feared a sharp decline in cases this year would scupper their hopes of proving a vaccine could work.

Another major trial in Liberia, which had aimed to recruit some 28,000 subjects, had to stop enrolling after only reaching its mid-stage target of 1,500 participants. Plans for testing in Sierra Leone were also scaled back. That left the study in Guinea, where Ebola is still infecting new victims, as the only real hope for demonstrating the efficacy of a vaccine.

(Additional reporting by Tom Miles in Geneva and Ben Hirschler in London; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Photo: A member of the French Red Cross disinfects the area around a motionless person suspected of carrying the Ebola virus as a crowd gathers in Forecariah, Guinea, January 30, 2015. REUTERS/Misha Hussain