Hey, you remember this from a few weeks ago, right?
Well, he made it official:
Senator Doug Mastriano (PA-33) officially introduced legislation to ensure patients can easily access early treatment drugs following prescription from a licensed provider.
Despite a record of success in other parts of the world, it is increasingly difficult for a patient in Pennsylvania to obtain early treatment off-label drugs such as Fluvoxamine, Hydroxychloroquine, and Ivermectin following prescription from a provider. Senator Mastriano’s office heard from many constituents who have been encountering pharmacies that refuse to dispense these drugs even with a valid prescription note from a doctor.
First off, there is no "record of success" for these drugs - so Senator Mastriano is lying right there.
Here's the CDC on Fluvoxamine:
There is insufficient evidence for the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) to recommend either for or against the use of fluvoxamine for the treatment of COVID-19.
And here's the NIH on Hydroxychloroquine:
The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) recommends against the use of chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine and/or azithromycin for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients (AI) and in nonhospitalized patients (AIIa). [Bolding in original.]
And finally the NIH on Ivermectin:
There is insufficient evidence for the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) to recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19. Results from adequately powered, well-designed, and well-conducted clinical trials are needed to provide more specific, evidence-based guidance on the role of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19.
You're not a medical expert, Senator. These are the medical experts, Senator.
There is no "record of success" for the use of these three drugs.
To support his legislation, Doug the non-medical expert again relies on old and debunked data:
A peer reviewed study by the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents found that an early treatment drug combination (hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin) decreased hospitalizations by 84% and resulted in a five-fold reduction in death. Another peer reviewed study conducted by physicians in Brazil found that those who took Ivermectin (compared to those who did not) had a 56% reduction in hospitalization and a 68% reduction in death.
As we posted last month, that first study is from early on in the pandemic (the data was gathered between March and May of 2020) and had nothing do say about the Delta or Omicron variants.
The FDA revoked the authorization for Hydroxychloroquine in June of that year.That month, Science.org published:
Through the fog of alleged misconduct, hope, hype, and politicization that surrounds hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug touted as a COVID-19 treatment, a scientific picture is now emerging.
Praised by presidents as a potential miracle cure and dismissed by others as a deadly distraction, hydroxychloroquine was spared a seeming death blow last week. On 4 June, after critics challenged the data, The Lancet suddenly retracted a paper that had suggested the drug increased the death rate in COVID-19 patients, a finding that had stopped many clinical trials in their tracks. But now three large studies, two in people exposed to the virus and at risk of infection and the other in severely ill patients, show no benefit from the drug. Coming on top of earlier smaller trials with disappointing findings, the new results mean it's time to move on, some scientists say, and end most of the trials still in progress.
Nothing has changed on that front, Senator. There's no record of success on hydroxychloroquine.
And as far as that "peer-reviewed" study out of Brazil?
Politifact debunked this in January. In fact their debunking includes this:
One of the study’s co-authors told PolitiFact that he could not say that the research "proved" ivermectin is effective. And he said nothing replaces vaccines. Rather, the manuscript urges ivermectin as an additional tool.
Senator. You're using outdated and debunked data to support your legislation and in doing so you're giving your constituents a false (really false) sense of hope regarding those drugs' effectiveness against the coronavirus.
You're putting the public health at risk with this, Senator.
