I'd
like you to look at this, as it is a warning not written about, on the
damage of Trump promoting a treatment for the Pandemic. This
perspective has not been in the media, and maybe it grabbed me as I did
take a course in Epidemiology at Columbia Medical School as a Grad
student in psychology. The course consisted of all the studies that had
been wrong, which we were to write up after evaluating.
If
you have doubts about any aspect of it, the explanation of the harm of
promoting what could be a placebo, show it to one with credentials in
this field. I really don't even care if my name is on this, as I
genuinely feel it could politicize what to now has been mostly both
parties fighting the COVID-19 as a common enemy.
Regards Al
-----------------------
The human cost of Trump's pushing his "cure" for covid-19
The deep damage of Trump's promoting the drugs, chloroquine and
hydroxychloroquine, effective for treating malaria, has not been
broached by the media. In the widely viewed daily report on this
pandemic, Dr. Fauci, delicately —
yet forcefully — pushed back, explaining that there
was only anecdotal evidence that the drugs, chloroquine and
hydroxychloroquine, may be effective. The dialog between the two, began
with Trump saying“I’m a
smart guy,” Dr. Fauci, acknowledging he couldn’t predict the drugs
would work.and up saying, “I feel good about it. And we’re going to
see. You’re going
to see soon enough.
President Trump has hundreds of million's of fans, those who trust and
admire him, in this and many other countries in the world, all fighting
this global pandemic. Trump is, in fact, a smart man, as he reminds us
of frequently, yet he could not explain a principle of epidemiology,
"double blind verification of the efficacy of a medical treatment." Dr.
Fauci chose challenge Trump on this, as it would have damaged their tacit
agreement, that he would correct only the very worse of his actions,
but would not do or say anything that challenges his authority.
Fauci did delicately —
yet forcefully — push back; explaining that there
was only "anecdotal evidence that the drugs, chloroquine and
hydroxychloroquine, may be effective." They engaged in a dialogue, that
was really a battle of wills between the two, with the President
concluding by saying, "Nobody's going to get killed by trying it"
It is certain that those who do have the Covid-19 will feel better
after taking chloroqune. This is as certain as those who visit Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes to
genuflect at the shrine do actually feel better, with some even living a
bit longer based on their emotional boost. This a beneficial side of
the "placebo effect" but there is also the vast harm that is done when
there is widespread belief in a nostrum, a cure that is actually of no
curative value.
There is another dimension, more profound and devastating that has been
ignored by the media. Trump is known for his spreading hatred against
institutions such as the free press, the protection of the first
amendment not limiting his calumny of any critical report defined as
being "fake." Trump's introduction and enthusiasm for chloroqune is
already having the effect of causing shortages for those with diseases
that this actually helps..
This "blessing" of this medication by President Trump will divert his
acolytes, which are not a small group, to view this untested
medication as a cure for this fatal disease. The distressing treatment, that now is the only one that works, is
excruciating for many, a version of national "lockdown." where the
entire public is in virtual house arrest. The emotional distress, even
beyond the actual inability to acquire necessities of living, is not a
trivial matter.
While Trump is an intelligent man, he knows nothing about epidemiology.
But ignorance about an area has never deterred his asserting expertise,
made more vivid in his own mind by his never bringing into conversations
those who have spent their careers in delving into complex areas,
examples being Global Climate Change, the technology of evolving
military weaponry or colonization of our planetary system.
Tragically, President Trump, by making specific suggestions of treatment
for this pandemic, has politicized this tragic challenge to the world.
Even if he eventually softens his enthusiasm for this drug, there is no
reason to believe its efficacy will not have been assimilated by his base, and
perhaps those of his style of leadership in other countries.
His seemingly benign recommendation, based on the divisiveness of our
country, will only fuel such hatred that is little affected by the
outcome of the few tests that are ongoing among international venues. The
brief effort of Trump uniting our country against a common enemy, his
proudly stating on multiple occasions, "I'm now a war president" is only
a fragile conceit, as he does not seem to understand the very concept.
The ancient Hippocratic Oath of physicians starts with, "First, Do No
Harm." This must not be breached, especially by a President who is
asserting his role as Physician in Chief in a war that he can't begin to
understand
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