Network newscasts skip major hydroxychloroquine report retractions, org says

[Burnt Reynolds 5,058]

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Evening newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC all ignored experts raising “serious scientific questions” about the data used for controversial research into the effectiveness of potential COVID-19 drug hydroxychloroquine, according to the conservative media watchdog group NewsBusters.

“All three [networks] had used the study to chide President Trump for pushing the drug and taking it himself,” NewsBuster analyst Nicholas Fondacaro, who studied the coverage, wrote.

A database by the Chicago company Surgisphere Corp. was used in an observational study of nearly 100,000 patients published on May 22 in the influential Lancet journal that tied the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to a higher risk of death in hospitalized patients with the virus.

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The validity of the data, however, has been called into question. The Lancet first published an “expression of concern” with the study after “serious scientific questions” were brought to its attention. It then retracted the report altogether on Thursday.

A separate paper, which also used the Surgisphere data, was also retracted from The New England Journal of Medicine. Earlier this week the NEJM issued an “expression of concern” regarding the study published May 1 that suggested widely used blood pressure medicines were not raising the risk of death for people with COVID-19.

The Guardian reports that Surgisphere “has so far failed to adequately explain its data or methodology” and says that the company’s “handful of employees appear to include a science fiction writer and an adult-content model.”

https://www.foxnews.com/media/network-newscasts-skip-hydroxychloroquine-report-retractions

 

Throw that in the "well, that didn't work" pile.

 

Hope they weren't on pins and needles hoping Trump would croak from taking this. 

[Voice of Reason 10,298]

19 minutes ago, Burnt Reynolds said:

 

Throw that in the "well, that didn't work" pile.

I took it for exactly what it was worth daily as people here in CEHST tried to poo-pooh the drug and call it dangerous. (Yes, it has its risks, as do ALL drugs, and I am personally against taking any pills unless absolutely necessary; I live with quite a bit of pain daily because of it.)

 

The drug has been prescribed to lupus patients since 1955.  Approximately 1.5 million lupus patients in the US, with 200,000 new cases annually.  And yet... we haven't killed off a substantial portion of them using HCQ thus far.

 

HCQ is also prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis patients.  No way of knowing how many of THOSE take HCQ without side effects, but I suspect the number would double or even triple the lupus patients.

 

"In 1956, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved HCQ for symptoms of lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, particularly skin inflammation, hair loss, mouth sores, fatigue, and joint pain."

 

I'd wager next month's salary that the last paragraph equates to a LOT of patients the world over taking HCQ.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Voice of Reason

[Steeleballz 7,550]

 

 

  Not to dog pile on the FOX fact checkers, since they've had more than their fair share of issues over the years, but they did mention the retraction on CBS news yesterday. 

[TBoneTX 45,288]

2 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

The drug has been prescribed to lupus patients since 1955.  [...]  HCQ is also prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis patients. 

This is apparently why the Texas Board of Pharmacy won't allow retail pharmacists to fill HCQ prescriptions for off-label indications -- the lupus and RA patients need the drug to remain readily available for dispensing.  Don't know whether hospital pharmacists are also thus restricted, but I'm guessing not or not as much.

[Steeleballz 7,550]

37 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

This is apparently why the Texas Board of Pharmacy won't allow retail pharmacists to fill HCQ prescriptions for off-label indications -- the lupus and RA patients need the drug to remain readily available for dispensing.  Don't know whether hospital pharmacists are also thus restricted, but I'm guessing not or not as much.

 

   The FDA's emergency use authorization is only for hospitals and recommends cardiac monitoring. The FDA issued a warning against outpatient use outside of clinical trials on April 24th. The AMA asked doctors on April 27th to stop prescribing HCQ for unauthorized use. 33 states currently have restrictions on prescribing HCQ outside of a hospital.

 

  It's honestly going to be an uphill battle to legitimately get HCQ for anything other than what it has previously been approved for. That ship has sailed.