A COVID-19 vaccine is said to be close, and the Administration is detailing plans to distribute it “free” (no out-of-pocket cost). Do you want to be first in line?
The first question to ask about a vaccine—or any medical intervention—is this: Is it necessary?
Vaccines exist for smallpox, rabies, anthrax, typhoid, and yellow fever. But you would not get one except for a possibly rabid animal bite or anticipated exposure. They all have nasty side effects.
What will the risk of COVID be when the vaccine is ready? As we are doing nearly a million tests per day, there are a lot of positive PCR tests. What does this mean? A positive test may be called a “case,” but this does not mean a person is sick, or contagious. Death rates are falling, even though every possible death is being attributed to COVID.
Are you already immune? Blood tests for antibodies are relatively easy to do, but T-cell immunity, which is probably far more important, is more difficult to determine and may already be widespread. Vaccine-induced immunity is generally judged by antibody levels only.
Are the antibodies, natural or vaccine-induced, effective? How long do they last? Answers are unknown. It does seem clear that a vaccine is not “once and done.” Most vaccine candidates will require more than one dose. The virus may mutate. The FDA has indicated that it may approve a vaccine that is only 50 percent effective.
Is there a choice—besides taking your chances? Most people, many more than 99 percent, will survive even if they catch COVID, but some will die, endure a long illness, and possibly have serious long-term complications.
What if there is a treatment? Especially one that is inexpensive, long tested, and safe—not compared with perfection but with a vaccine or no treatment?
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is the one most talked about, and the one most targeted for suppression. Medical boards threaten doctors who prescribe it, even though their patients are doing well; states impose unprecedented restrictions, though some are expiring or being lifted; and organized medicine is mostly on the no-home-treatment, remdesivir-in-the-ICU, and wait-for-the-vaccine message.
The most powerful anti-HCQ message seems to be that it could cause cardiac death. The evidence is that HCQ benefits the heart, and that COVID-19 damages it, through infecting the heart muscle or through the body’s ”bradykinin storm” response.
Patients need to inform themselves and demand the freedom to choose.
For more information: “COVID-19 Is Not Untreatable.”
