by Kara Machowski
Right about now nearly every American has heard of hydroxychloroquine, but a month ago very few had ever heard the name. Touted as a drug that helps treat malaria and recently became known as a “super drug”. Some experts say that it could aid those infected and in a severe state from coronavirus possibly recover and recover faster. President Trump is very hopeful that this drug will work, so much so that he has spoken at numerous briefings what he thinks about hydroxychloriquine and that it should be available “soon”. Soon, is still a little ways away. The Henry Ford Health System will be conducting a study of hydroxychloroquine's ability to fight and prevent Covid-19. They are asking for 3,000 volunteers who have worked in the healthcare field and will begin the study next week.
Hydroxychloroquine was used to help treat SARS-CoV-2, another form of covid. Chinese officials said that they saw great results when treating those with Covid-19 with hydroxychloroquine and thus recommended a twice daily dose of 500mg. However, we still don't know the long term effects of the drug or how it could affect certain individuals with per-existing medical conditions or those in certain age or demographic groups.
However, hydroxychloroquine is not only used to treat malaria, it is also a daily medication for those suffering from lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. For patients with lupus hydroxychloroquine aids them by limiting and softening the number of disease flare ups, decreases the damage of the disease, which advances life quality and survival. The ultimate effect of the disease is unfortunately, death. Since the mention of the drug many patients who use it to treat their lupus or R.A. are unable to find it.
For Kaylee Ramsay, she stated on CNN Thursday that as soon as she heard on the news how it could help with Covid-19, she immediately phoned her doctor who gave her a 90 day script. But when she tried to fill it at her pharmacy she was informed that not only were they out, but they were backordered. This is a common theme for people who are on hydroxychloroquine, plus when they are able to find it most insurances would allow a 90 day script to be filled, typically its a 30 day script. Kaylee has found a pharmacy that has ordered the drug for her, but is still waiting for it to be shipped.
This is always an issue when developing a drug on the fly for a disease, there are so many obstacles to obtain enough vaccines for the public as well as the process to have it medically cleared. In the meantime the stock is low, and while the public has been warned against using the drug on their own to treat coronavirus, it is somehow backordered. A man in Arizona who feared coronavirus took chloroquine on his own, as it was said that when paired with hydroxychloroquine, could help fight the virus. However, it wasn’t the medically scripted chloroquine, instead it was an additive for a cleaner used to clean fish tanks. The man subsequently died of an overdose.
We still have a while before we will know the true effects of hydroxychloroquine in fighting Covid-19, and a long way away from production to distribution. But, there should be some comfort in the fact that we may be on the brink of a way to fight this disease and help us and our family or friends recover. In the meantime, listen to experts and do not seek this drug on your own or through a doctor (friend/family) as the dosage is still unknown, and you may be taking the drug from someone with lupus or R.A., who will find themselves inn pain, demobilized or worse, dying.
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