1. Standard membersh76
    Civis Americanus Sum
    New York
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    02 Jul '20 15:46
    Which currently available treatments is(are) most promising and why?

    Tocilizumab

    Corticosteroids (e.g., Dexamethasone)

    Remdesivir

    Favipiravir

    Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics

    Zinc Sulfate

    lopinavir/ritonavir/ribavirin/interferon beta-1b

    Vitamin D supplements

    Convalescent plasma

    Blood thinners (Asprin/heparin)



    Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
  2. Joined
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    02 Jul '20 16:322 edits
    @sh76 said

    Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
    I think you would have to be pretty irresponsible to give any to your friend without proper sound medical expert advice to do so and for your friend's sake always better to just leave it to the medial professionals. If there is no medic around then you are stuck (in regards to wise medication choice) until if and when there is.
    I have heard of some cases of layperson self-medication or layperson medication of their loved ones that resulting in making the illness WORSE and even in some cases resulting in DEATH. This is why we employ experts for such things.
  3. Standard memberSoothfast
    0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,
    Planet Rain
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    02 Jul '20 17:121 edit
    @sh76 said
    Which currently available treatments is(are) most promising and why?

    Tocilizumab

    Corticosteroids (e.g., Dexamethasone)

    Remdesivir

    Favipiravir

    Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics

    Zinc Sulfate

    lopinavir/ritonavir/ribavirin/interferon beta-1b

    Vitamin D supplements

    Convalescent plasma

    Blood thinners (Asprin/heparin)



    Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
    Dexamethasone shouldn't be given prophylactically, as it is an immunosuppressant and seems only to be efficacious in those who are on their last leg in hospital.

    Heparin would do in my wife, as she is allergic to it. This happened in a hospital a couple decades ago, and the only thing that saved her was a synthetic heparin that had just become available at the time. In short: there are different kinds of heparin, and one kind can be fatal for some.

    Low dose aspirin: I take this daily myself, but for other reasons. Nonetheless I'm glad for the (possible) extra defense against clotting. It's possibly the safest thing on your list except for...

    Vitamin D: since early April I've gone back to taking a daily multivitamin to help ensure I'm not deficient in vitamin D, seeing as I live in a boreal clime where (as you may recall I said many years ago) a moonsuit is necessary to face the elements during the seemingly endless winters. To get the full benefit of the vitamin D in your body -- to metabolize it -- you need magnesium. The multivitamin also supplies this. So make sure you get your Mg. Nuts like almonds and cashews have a lot, for example. In general just eating a balanced diet is the best defense really.

    Remdesivir can have some nasty side effects, but I believe it may be beneficial against Covid-19. Your hypothetical scenario indicates no doctors are about, so would I take it as a treatment, or give it to someone? I'd have to read a lot more about the drug first, and its possible interactions.

    Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics: I think not. It has risks, and any benefits seem hard to replicate in studies.

    I don't know enough about most of the rest of the things on your list.
  4. Standard membersh76
    Civis Americanus Sum
    New York
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    02 Jul '20 19:591 edit
    @soothfast said
    Dexamethasone shouldn't be given prophylactically, as it is an immunosuppressant and seems only to be efficacious in those who are on their last leg in hospital.

    Heparin would do in my wife, as she is allergic to it. This happened in a hospital a couple decades ago, and the only thing that saved her was a synthetic heparin that had just become available at the time. In ...[text shortened]... d to replicate in studies.

    I don't know enough about most of the rest of the things on your list.
    Thanks for the tip about magnesium.

    I think you're being a touch dramatic about Pennsylvania, though. 😉

    Two more quick things:

    1. Didn't get a chance to say so in Debates, but I liked your line about herd immunity to panic.

    2. Re HCQ, check this out:

    https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(20)30534-8/fulltext
  5. Subscribermedullah
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    02 Jul '20 22:284 edits

    Removed by poster

  6. Standard memberDeepThought
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    03 Jul '20 04:02
    @medullah removed their quoted post
    It's not a 'flu related virus. The PCR method was developed for sickle cell anemia [1]. Mullins made all sorts of bizarre claims and denied HIV caused AIDS. As far as causation is concerned they've been doing these things called Randomized Controlled Trials and demonstrated that dexamethosone reduces mortality by 1/3 in ventilated patients. The trials demonstrate causation.

    [1] https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1985Sci...230.1350S/abstract
  7. Joined
    15 Dec '03
    Moves
    313682
    04 Jul '20 21:51
    @sh76 said
    Which currently available treatments is(are) most promising and why?

    Tocilizumab

    Corticosteroids (e.g., Dexamethasone)

    Remdesivir

    Favipiravir

    Hydroxychloriquine w/ or w/o antibiotics

    Zinc Sulfate

    lopinavir/ritonavir/ribavirin/interferon beta-1b

    Vitamin D supplements

    Convalescent plasma

    Blood thinners (Asprin/heparin)



    Which would you give to your 75 year old friend who gets COVID tomorrow and there are no doctors around?
    Hydrocodone
  8. Subscribermedullah
    Lover of History
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    06 Jul '20 11:13

    Removed by poster

  9. Standard memberExecutioner Brand
    Grass Farmer
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    08 Jul '20 01:14
    Jul 7, 2020
    Novavax Secures $1.6 Billion from U.S. Government for COVID-19 Vaccine Program

    https://lifeboat.com/blog/2020/07/novavax-secures-1-6-billion-from-u-s-government-for-covid-19-vaccine-program
  10. Standard memberDeepThought
    Losing the Thread
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    08 Jul '20 01:50
    @medullah removed their quoted post
    Are you disputing that the virus SARS-CoV-2 causes novel coronavirus disease? This is what Koch's postulates are for and they are hopelessly outdated. For one thing they can't really cope with asymptomatic cases (violating 3). The modern(ish) approach to medical causation is summarised by the Bradford Hill criteria.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_Hill_criteria
  11. Subscribersonhouse
    Fast and Curious
    slatington, pa, usa
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    09 Jul '20 00:32
    @humy
    Well, at least vitamin D3 can be given in 2000 unit doses without ill effects so that would be a help. Also not getting the disease in the first place would be best......
  12. Subscribermedullah
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    09 Jul '20 21:52

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