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Coping with COVID: Hydroxychloroquine most effective when given to COVID-19 patients early

Analysis of a drug study reveals hydroxychloroquine is most effective for treating COVID-19 when administered to patients earlier in the disease rather than patients receiving the drug when near-death, debunking claims the drug is dangerous.

A major flaw has arisen among claims that the drug hydroxychloroquine used to treat patients with COVID-19 is dangerous and deadly, according to a report by Real Clear Politics.

In a small study for hydroxychloroquine, the flaw noted was that the drug was given to the sickest patients who were already dying because of their age and severe pre-existing conditions.

The outcome for those patients receiving the drug near-death showed quite different compared to patients receiving the drug earlier after contracting COVID-19.

The small study was conducted on U.S. Veterans Affairs patients hospitalized with the illness and, despite the reported high death rate in patients taking hydroxychloroquine in that particular study, negative claims against the drug from several media sources were quickly followed by those defending it, pointing to a note from the host of the study that specifically warned that studies posted should not be reported in the media as established information.

However, The Washington Post, among other news outlets, neglected the warning, making repeated claims that hydroxychloroquine was ineffective and caused serious cardiac problems, reports Real Clear Politics.

Nowhere in the study, reports Real Clear, was there any mention of the fact that COVID-19 damages the heart during infection, sometimes causing irregular and sometimes fatal heart rhythms in patients not taking the drug.

The VA study can be found here.