Enormous amounts of misinformation persist regarding COVID-19, which as a major pandemic is bound to lead to speculation and conspiracy theories, even by mainstream outlets. Many have tried to capitalize on the issue for political gain, and so rumors abound about supposed failures or dealings. While difficult to pin them all down due to the evolving situation, several rumors or misconceptions can be put to bed. It's important to remember that the response to COVID-19 does not rest on any individual or singular person, be it Donald Trump, Doctors, or other politicians, and instead our response is a combination of the aggregate of people working together. No singular person can take responsibility for all the good and bad events that have occurred, and china is ultimately responsible for the spread by lying to the world about the disease ahead of time, and it's affiliates. Baseless partisan speculation about the issue detracts from the overall crisis and can even spread panic which may make things worse, but there are things being done to help by members of government and the general public.
Trump, many Republicans and Democrats in congress implemented travel bans and restrictions before it was accepted by many in the media and many mainstream democrats, saving lives, in a situation where Democrats likely would have not, given they specifically were against it, before the March 11th pandemic declaration by the WHO, being ahead of the curve by over a month in February 2nd. Trump and various politicians restarted and refunded a program designed to produce ventilators in July of 2019, a full 9 months before the WHO declared the circumstances a pandemic. Trump touted and promoted a number of unproven treatment options for Corona virus, which now have been accepted by many governments, including Italy, South Korea and China, despite calls to punish him as a human rights violator incredulously enough in the hague. Despite all of this, and the media downplaying the crisis, calling Trump a Xenophobe and racist for shutting down travel and trying to help with the crisis, they have now switched tunes, claiming he did not act fast enough. Luckily it is possible to call them out on this merely by pointing out their own statements, but as it has been said many times before, a lie travels half way around the world before the truth can even put on it's boots. Only time will tell how much this sticks in the minds of those who believed the hype, and fell for the mass hysteria.
Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine Efficacy
(Expert consensus on chloroquine phosphate for the treatment of novel coronavirus pneumonia)
Much speculation of Hydroxychloroquine persists regarding it's efficacy of treating COVD-19 from the novel Corona virus. Some have gone so far as to block it's use after Trump recommended it, such as Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, until reversing course four days later [1], and another political individual, Congresswoman Tavia Galonksi [2], suggested Trump should be tried in the hague for human rights violation merely for mentioning it, understandably an incredible and extreme accusation. "I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been to The Hague. I’m making a referral for crimes against humanity tomorrow. Today’s press conference was the last straw. I know the need for a prosecution referral when I see one." However, despite the hysteria and desire to score political points, several governments, including China, South Korea, and Italy [1][2][3] and the U.S. government's CDC and FDA have approved it's use and shown positive results from it, giving rise to the hope that, when combined with other drugs, it would serve as an effective treatment for COVID-19 symptoms. There is no vaccine or definite cure for COVID-19 as of April 10th, however there are treatment options available which help to keep people alive and allow them to breathe better, such as ventilators to increase breathing, drugs which help clear out mucous in the lungs such as Lasix, general anti-viral drugs commonly used to treat HIV such as Kaletra, and drugs such as Hydroxychloroquine or Chloroquine. [4] As the drug is a respiratory disease that kills by flooding lungs with fluid, any effort to improve the patient's breathing dramatically increases their survivaiblity rate from the disease, and thus options that are not even pharmaceutical drug-related, such as ventilators, have shown success in improving survivability by increasing oxygen to the individual's lungs and body. Therefore, drugs do not need to cure COVID-19 specifically, but rather keep the host alive long enough for their own immune system to fight the virus or let the virus pass through the body on it's own natural course. This is similiar to cooling down the body when it has a fever, giving pain medication to deal with secondary pain issues resulting from a disease or surgery, or using ventilators after people suffer serious lung trauma by other means (such as gunshot wounds or car accidents). It is possible to treat the symptoms of a presently incurable disease, such as HIV, to improve survivability of the patient and prevent the spread of the disease to other people without necessarily curing it or fighting the disease directly, even without drugs.
Hydroxychloroquine and Chloroquine has proven benefits not only in treating COVID-19, but all viruses. As a general anti-viral drug, it weakens viruses by reducing PH levels in the cell, needed for viral cell replication, and increases zinc absorption by the individual cells, thus allowing the cell to fight off the virus. A simple quote from wikipedia: "Chloroquine has antiviral effects. It increases late endosomal and lysosomal pH, resulting in impaired release of the virus from the endosome or lysosome – release of the virus requires a low pH. The virus is therefore unable to release its genetic material into the cell and replicate. Chloroquine also seems to act as a zinc ionophore, that allows extracellular zinc to enter the cell and inhibit viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase." This general anti-viral capabilities applies to virtually all viruses, including COVID-19, and thus the general anti-viral capabilities are a benefit regardless of it's specific efficacy with COVID-19. Studies specific to COVID-19 are rare and usually involve small sample sizes, but when mixed with various drugs have shown promising results. [1][2][3] "In various studies, the drug has demonstrated antiviral activity, an ability to modify the activity of the immune system, and has an established safety profile at appropriate doses, leading to the hypothesis that it may also be useful in the treatment of COVID-19." For the antiviral treatment, the doctors recommended lopinavir 400mg/ritonavir 100mg (Kaletra two tablets, twice a day) or chloroquine 500mg orally per day. Despite a hyperbolic response from the media and politicians to criminalize or punish other politicians for promoting this drug, the drug has been proven to be effective in treating COVID-19 and viruses in general, lending to it's use in treating the virus.[4]
Numerous studies have confirmed General anti-viral abilities. ""Chloroquine exerts direct antiviral effects, inhibiting pH-dependent steps of the replication of several viruses including members of the flaviviruses, retroviruses, and coronaviruses. Its best-studied effects are those against HIV replication, which are being tested in clinical trials. Moreover, chloroquine has immunomodulatory effects, suppressing the production/release of tumour necrosis factor α and interleukin 6, which mediate the inflammatory complications of several viral diseases. We review the available information on the effects of chloroquine on viral infections, raising the question of whether this old drug may experience a revival in the clinical management of viral diseases such as AIDS and severe acute respiratory syndrome, which afflict mankind in the era of globalisation."
Media reverses course on Corona virus, at first downplaying threat, then condemning others for supposedly doing the same thing
While many are prone to panic and hysteria during times of crisis understandably, many in the media have unfortunately lead to more panic given their incredibly hostile and politicized coverage of the crisis. Despite notions that Trump responded late to the Corona virus threat, he mentioned the threat as far back as 2019 in an Executive order trying to develop a vaccine for the disease as soon as it was announced to the world in September, and in the February 4th stated it in the State of the Union Address, and put travel restrictions on China on February 2nd, a move that was panned by numerous Democrat and media figures, referring to it as "Racist" and "Xenophobic". [1][2][3][4] Following this, over 45 countries also put travel restrictions on China, and various democrats, such as Joe Biden [1] (his primary political rival for president), and Nancy Pelosi, relented. The WHO, or world health organization, declared the global crisis a pandemic, on March 11th, 2020 (03/11/2020), long after action to produce ventilators, masks, and other medical equipment, and restricting travel to China (February 2nd) was implemented. [1][2]
Early before the Crisis in 2019, Trump and the Republican Administration had restarted a program to produce ventilators. After implementing the 2013 PAHPA reauthorization, Congress recognized certain federal programs, policies and procedures that needed improvement. The purpose of the 2019 PAHPAI bill was to implement these improvements, which included greater funding, specifically for the ventilator program. [1][2] In 2006 (under President George W. Bush), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the United States realized that the country was likely to have an epidemic of respiratory disease and would need more ventilators, so it awarded a $6 million contract to Newport Medical Instruments, a small company in California, to make 40,000 ventilators for under $3,000 apiece. In 2011, Newport sent three prototypes to the Centers for Disease Control. In 2012, Covidien, a $12 billion/year medical device manufacturer, which manufactured more expensive competing ventilators, bought Newport for $100 million. Covidien delayed and in 2014 cancelled the contract, citing budget restrictions to the program and low government support as part of their complaint. BARDA started over again with a new company, Philips, and in July 2019, the FDA approved the Philips ventilator, and the government ordered 10,000 ventilators for delivery in mid-2020. [2] As a result of Trump and Republicans renewed interest, as well as many house democrats, for the emergency program, thousands of lives have been saved. Ventilators have been in high demand to help treat corona virus, as the primary cause of death with the disease is a lack of respiration and restriction of breathing, with New York requesting nearly 30,000 respirators. As a result of this program, restarted by Trump and others a mere 6 months before the 2020 pandemic, we have been stocked with respirators, which has doubtless saved countless lives.
Medical supplies have also been sent to various states and countries. New York received 2,200 of the nearly 4,400 ventilators, a much needed respite from the disease. [1][2] Supplies were sent to Michigan despite the Governor's concern, leading to media and political retractions. [3] Trump did not tell states they were on their own, he merely told them to try and get it on their own, despite what the New York times and Daily beast out of context quote implied. "Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment—try getting it yourselves," Trump told the group of governors, according to the Times. "We will be backing you, but try getting it yourselves. Points of sales, much better, much more direct if you can get it yourself." The most expensive bill in history, the Corona Virus economic stimulus bill, worth nearly 2 trillion dollars of aid and giving every American at least 1,200 dollars, was blocked repeatedly by Nancy Pelosi and democrats, who in their words saw the relief package as a means to "restructure things to fit our vision", denying the aid Americans desperately needed in the favor of irrelevant concerns, such as climate change. [4]
Trump, many Republicans and Democrats in congress implemented travel bans and restrictions before it was accepted by many in the media and many mainstream democrats, saving lives, in a situation where Democrats likely would have not, given they specifically were against it, before the March 11th pandemic declaration by the WHO, being ahead of the curve by over a month in February 2nd. Trump and various politicians restarted and refunded a program designed to produce ventilators in July of 2019, a full 9 months before the WHO declared the circumstances a pandemic. Trump touted and promoted a number of unproven treatment options for Corona virus, which now have been accepted by many governments, including Italy, South Korea and China, despite calls to punish him as a human rights violator incredulously enough in the hague. Despite all of this, and the media downplaying the crisis, calling Trump a Xenophobe and racist for shutting down travel and trying to help with the crisis, they have now switched tunes, claiming he did not act fast enough. Luckily it is possible to call them out on this merely by pointing out their own statements, but as it has been said many times before, a lie travels half way around the world before the truth can even put on it's boots. Only time will tell how much this sticks in the minds of those who believed the hype, and fell for the mass hysteria.
