Schumer Calls on VA to Explain Use of Drug

| May 11, 2020

A CBS News affiliate ran a story put out by the Associated Press:

Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the VA needs to provide Congress more information about a recent bulk order for $208,000 worth of hydroxychloroquine. President Donald Trump has heavily promoted the malaria drug, without evidence, as a treatment for COVID-19.

As I recall, the study that showed that veterans became worse with the drug was flawed anyway and would not pass peer review.  See this rebuttal which downplayed the study as “observational” and “done on a small number of veterans.” However, it was the first study that showed negative effects of hydroxychloroquine so many people jumped on it and put it front and center – in my view to spite the president and his claims otherwise.

“OK” say I.  Let things prove out with good science and time, but consider this:

Someone is going to make a boatload of money should they come across a useful and proven treatment.  Since hydroxychloroquine is way past its R&D stage and money has been recouped, there is not a lot of money to be made with this drug.  Therefore, there is a lot of incentive to downplay its effectiveness over something brand new and sexy, along with a huge price tag that people will be more than willing to pay.

My point is – there is going to be politics involved and Schumer probably says “why not jump in with both feet?”  His motivation is probably to nip at the heels of Trump in any way he can and to save face from a failed impeachment.  Then again, his motives could be pure, but I can’t help but think otherwise.

I think this has the potential to get nasty.  If people are at the end of their life and there is no hope, should they be denied something that may benefit them?  I don’t think there is enough proven science to say one way or the other at this point.

 

Category: Health Care debate, Politics

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NHSparky

The most dangerous place in DC is the space between Schumer and a TV camera.

OWB

Ain’t that the truth. I laughed out loud during Trump’s inauguration ceremonies when Schumer managed to get himself on the fixed camera three times with people leaving the Capitol to enter the stage/seating area, mugging for the camera each time. It was sooooo juvenile.

HMCS(FMF) ret

Fuck nut Chuck is a First Class attention whore…

John

Funny, I was thinking the exact same thing. That is the one consistent comment, verbatim, I hear about Schumer from staffers (his or otherwise). Watch out, if there is a TV camera, you may get trampled!

OWB

Aspirin may be the only other drug that has a longer history of testing, discovery of contraindications, and inexplicable usefulness.

Meanwhile, use the stuff. Just because we can’t explain something doesn’t mean we should not enjoy the benefits of it. If I need it and happen to be taking the heart meds known to not react well with it – take me off the heart meds for the duration. They do so with blood thinners pre surgery all the time.

All you whiners who don’t want to take it – don’t. What do you gain by depriving the rest of us of it?

26Limabeans

I would take it with a shot of Whiskey if
I thought it might help.

5th/77th FA

Read somewhere that this was .60 a dose where as the new drug being pushed was $1K a pop. Again, follow the money and connect the dots. Just one more way that a career swamp dwelling kongress kritter kook can screech “ORANGE MAN BAD!” Trump could announce today that fecal matter is odorous and the dims would be making floral arrangements out of it.

Poetrooper

“…fecal matter is odorous and the dims would be making floral arrangements out of it.”

They did that for eight years:

Florobama…

A Proud Infidel®™

Schumer the mega-scumbag is going to play politics with whatever he sees fit.

5th/77th FA

Maybe we could get our ninjas to dig deeper into the relationship between Soros, Gates, Wuhan Lab, Fauci, and WHO. Plus, who all holds the patents or the companies that stand to benefit from these medicines. It is always about the money…and the power. Remember the “joke” that Bernadette made on Big Bang? “We developed a disease this morning and patented the cure for it this afternoon.”

MI Ranger

This sounds too much like real investigative journalism. We might put all the liberal thinking, out of work, opinionated professionals out of work for doing their job for them…LETS DO IT!!!

E4 Mafia '83-'87

Old vets dying at The VA is a price Chuck is willing to have others pay to unseat Trump. Millions of American out of work, and savings all gone is the price the DNC Propaganda Ministry is willing to have other pay to unseat Trump. This has entire episode was handled from a political standpoint.
Russia-failed coup #1
Impeachment-failed coup #2
Corona/WuFlu/Chinese Virus-last chance coup

CDR_D

Anecdotal, but more comprehensive than that VA one.

https://aapsonline.org/hcq-90-percent-chance/

DocV

At this point, it’s a chicken soup approach. It may not help, but it couldn’t hurt. I was in charge of the hydroxychlorquine supply on my ship and had to hand it out and keep records. Never noted any ill effects. If it’s a Hail Mary play, I say give it!

Cameron
The Other Whitey

Saw that. Sickening. And being overshadowed by the case in Georgia of Dumbass Vigilante Wannabes vs Longtime Thug Who Thought He Was Hard.

Mason

Why? Just why?

Of course, that’s what the media will dig into. They’re already gave him the celebrity he wanted.

Ex-PH2

What was the reason for anyone telling Trump that hydroxycholoroquine was useless?

Was it because someone getting a kickback was lobbying for remdesevir to be used instead?

Is this plot thickening?

Commissar

Because the actual studies showed it was.

Not the bullshit your worthless conspiracy theory sources say.

Actual science.

SFC D

There has been very little actual science during this pandemic, and a metric shit-ton of modeling based on assumptions and suppositions. I don’t think there’s been an accurate, actual test of the efficacy of the hydroxychloriquine/z-pack treatment, at least not anything that could be called a “clinical trial”. Yes, there has been evidence that it is effective, and nearly as much stating otherwise. I could very well be wrong, but I haven’t seen anything but anecdotal evidence either way, and a few smart docs stating up-front that this is not a clinical test.

OmegaPaladin

I saw those studies Commissar, they were tiny trials with really bad data. In one case, both groups had near complete recovery rates, which meant that the trial could not tell you very much. Also, they were in China, and I am treating Chinese research on this with a pinch of salt. They are a police state, things get censored there.

Hydroxychloroquine /Azithromycin is worth trying, especially in cases where Remdesivir and cytokine inhibitors are not available.

5th/77th FA

Maybe something along these lines Ex? Stole this off a fakebook page I was lurking around. Had seen the article in other places last week and can’t seem to locate a reference to it now. As MI Ranger pointed out above, we need some true investigative reporting going on instead of yellow journalism fear mongering. See if the linky works. Unitaid(?) and Gilead(?)

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157009543440969&set=a.40563770968&type=3&theater

Ex-PH2

Yeah, the linky thingy works just fine, but he doesn’t cite any references, which I’d like to see.

5th/77th FA

That was my concern also, and a reason I delayed posting it as a comment. I was digging for the original article that was on another news feed the other day (?) Thursday that I had neglected to make a note of. It was full of other links with pictures of the principles in meetings and of the company stock reports. The truth is out there…somewhere. There is way yonder more to all of this than we can piece together and there are multitudes of people who stand to profit from the destruction of our Republic.

We DO know these facts. George Soros has stated on many times his desire to see the USA destroyed. Bill Gates is a NWO Globalist that has stated that the population of the Earth is too high. Dr. Fauci has been part of the deep state for DECADES, and we all know of the corruption of the Clinton Crime Syndicate.

OldSoldier54

As far as I can find, the so-called VA study only used Hydroxychloroquine when the evidence strongly suggests that it must be administered with Azythromicin and Zinc Sulfate all together to be effective.

This is how these so-called studies are done to impugn any given protocol or treatment, in order to offer an alternate (and usually much more expensive) protocol as “more effective.”

It’s always about money, and it is truly sickening.

Commissar

It failed to show effectiveness during trials.

It is not an effective treatment.

The primary reason Trump pushed it was he was financially invested in it.

The Fox News “expert” that originally pushed it is a market con artist that was also invested in it.

The only reason the right is emotionally obsessed defending and promoting it is because the right sees it as political issue rather than a medical or science issue.

11B-Mailclerk

No one makes much money that stuff. Off patent and about as generic as stuff gets. Trump loses money taking a $400k job. Probably loses more money than any President in history, forgoing his multi-million dollar income for $400k

Oh, wait, he donates it all back, less the required dollar per year.

So you just rake-stepped bigly, there, dummy

All those doctors who use it successfully to treat their patients have no idea they are practicing medicine wrong, per you?

Why do you tell such stupid lies?

USMC Steve

Wrong again as usual. By the time the VA started handing this stuff out, several other countries had already tried it and found it uniformly successful. By the way, this stuff has been out since the Vietnam war, so it is by no means new or earth shaking. Curb your TDS and social democratism. Reality rules.

George V

Here’s one of a numerous articles indicating success with hydroclorquinine: https://tinyurl.com/yb6vwlfc

It’s real easy to find others. Use duckduckgo.com which does not filter results.

The problem is that because Trump mentioned this drug it has been politicized. There’s political motivation to ensure it is not successful.

Other articles I’ve read indicate that treatment needs to be started soon enough. If a patient is in respiratory distress it is useless. The VA patients were pretty far down the hill, so to speak.

In a very limited number of people it can cause irregular heartbeat (as can the anti-biotic often co-prescribed). Making blanket statements like I’ve seen in the media that the drug is dangerous because of this is very deceitful as the drug has been used for decades for other conditions without concern.

Here’s an example from the NY Daily News, a paper that leans to the left: https://tinyurl.com/ybutrl28

Note the headline that the study was halted due to heart complications. Down in the article you find the patients received high doses, more than recommended. (Hmm – could that be a problem?) Further in, read that the results “…resulted in a premature halting of this arm”. That means the trial of patients on the standard dose continued. But the headline says “halted”.

You also read the antibiotic co-prescribed is known to cause the same heart symptom. So, which caused it? HCQ or Azythromycin? And this partial result is quoted as a conclusive study???

Another egregious statement is the physician quoted that that it could affect 1% of patients, and that’s 10,000 out of 1 million. Yes, and out the population routinely taking a standard dose, not an excessive one, how many die of heart arrhythmia?

In my opinion (for what that’s worth) an honest review when this is all said and done will be that withholding this treatment will be considered a massive malpractice case. All because a politician disliked by 50% of the country mentioned it had potential.

HMCS(FMF) ret

Steve… don’t show him the math. You know what the “new math” does to their minds…

Twist

“The primary reason Trump pushed it was he was financially invested in it.”

Yeah, because that $1,000-$5,000 he has invested is so important to a billionaire

A Proud Infidel®™

“It feeled tu shuo iffectifeness duoring triels. It is nut un iffectife-a treetment. Zee-a primery reesun Truomp puoshed it ves he-a ves feenuonceelly infested in it. Zee-a Fux Nuos “ixpert” zeet ourigeenelly puoshed it is a merket cun irtist zeet ves ilsu infested in it. Zee-a ounly reesun zee-a right is imutiunelly oubsessed deffendeeng und prumuting it is becuose-a zee-a right sees it is puleeticel issuoe-a rezeer thuon a medeecel our sceence-a issuoe-a. Bork Bork Bork! ”

Your tripe sounds MUCH more intelligent when translated to Chef-speak!

OldSoldier54

Dude. You are so …

Ah, well. Don’t feed the trolls. Right.

Only Army Mom

Anecdotal, I know, but my 79 year old mother developed a fever and cough. She was admitted to the hospital from the nursing home on April 1, positive Covid-19 test on April 2.

On April 2, was started on Hydroxychloroquine and z-pac and taken off blood thinners.

On April 7 she was returned to the nursing home, symptom free. On April 12, she tested negative for the virus and positive for antibodies.

She also had COPD, heart disease, a valve replacement, stage 4 bladder cancer, Parkinson’s, diabetes and dementia.

She is one of 16 residents- and the youngest of the 16-of that nursing home who got it and recovered. A friend is a doc, infectious diseases specialist at that hospital. He swears by it and notes the (then, still?) surprisingly low infection rate in malaria endemic places.

If I get it, I’ll take the hydroxychloroquine and z-pac.

ArmyATC

Schumer doesn’t care about veterans. This is just another attempt at self aggrandizement by the clown who never saw a camera he didn’t like.

Commissar

The fucking drug is ineffective in treating Covid-19

God damnit people.

Just fucking accept the science for once.

What the duck is wrong with you?

UpNorth

When did you get your MD and PhD in medicine? Just curious, you seem to think you can opine like a Doc, how many peer-reviewed articles on the use of hydroxychloroquine and Z-pacs as treatment for Wuhan Flu have you had published, poodle?

Commissar

What does my being a doctor have to do with it? I am not basing my opinion on my medical knowledge.

The entire basis for you thinking it is effective is because Trump wanted it pushed.

That is it.

That is why it is a right wing cause right now.

No clinical trials exist that show any effectiveness. There have been some poorly conducted and debunked field studies that showed it might be effective and that actual clinical trials needed to be done.

More than 140 trials have been initiated worldwide. Only about 1/3 meet all the criteria for a genuine double blind clinical trial.

Of the more than 140, 5 have published results.

Not a single one so far has shown effectiveness.

You don’t assume something is effective and administer it until clinical trials prove it is not.

The only reason you all are pushing this drugs and not the dozen of other drugs that have promise, is because Trump promoted it.

That is the entire god damn reason,

That is why you aren’t pushing the other drugs. Just this one.

This one has become a political cause in your cultish defense of Trump and his asinine comments and agenda.

11B-Mailclerk

That Doc in France, for example! Clearly a Trump supporter and campaign worker.

Why do you tell such stupid lies?

Commissar

Trump did not take his position on hydrochloroquine based on Dr. Raoult’s speculative video.

He did it the days after he might with a billionaire pharma exec can campaign donor.

He did it before Raoult released any opinion on the issue.

The reason the right made it a cause celeb was because of Trump. Not Raoult.

11B-Mailclerk

Why not just save everyone time and simply post a link to CPUSA? We can get their lunatic ravings straight from the horse’s ass.

Why would anyone ask a Pharma person about …pharma? How suspicious! He should instead ask …You?

Buzz off birdbrain. You are not even trying to sound lucid anymore.

rgr769

He can’t deviate from the Progda script and the CPUSA talking points pushing the party line. Otherwise, he doesn’t get his Soros bucks. If the bottom line of his verbal BM isn’t ORANGE MAN BAD!!!, then no money for that comment.

SFC D

And the little parrot then has the balls to lecture us about “conspiracy theories”. He’s a walking anti-Trump, socialism-is-not-communism, I-know-best conspiracy theory.

Had to be paint chips.

Twist

So now you admit that it is effective, but that Trump just pushed it because of campaign contributions?

SFC D

He did seem to say that, in his obtuse, excessively verbose tantrum.

Twist

It’s his MO. When proven wrong either ignore it or move the goal posts to something else to promote orange man bad

OmegaPaladin

Listen, you ignorant fool, I was following this closely since the early days via Instapundit and stuff from professional publications I follow. The first medication discussed was a protease inhibitor combination drug normally used for AIDS/HIV, then HCQ/Z-pak combo. Remdesivir came later along with the cytokine inhibitor.

Also, the reason it became a cause on the Right is that our garbage media jumped all over it and became obsessive over it. Governors were banning it in their state, even for physicians trying speculative treatment. They went absolutely nuts. If they had not treated it like pure liquid satan, it would be less commonly discussed.

Think for a moment – why would Trump support a GENERIC DRUG if he was only in it for the money?

USMC Steve

You are either lying or using the usual libtard sources for your information. It has been proven along with the Zithromiacin (sp) to be almost totally successful in killing this virus within two to three days. At this point there have been several US doctors who used it on several hundred coronavirus sufferers, and all recovered with it.

Commissar

I am not lying.

And there has been no study proving it kills the drug in patients within two or three days.

There was one in vitro study that showed the drug kills the virus in three days.

In vitro means essential means test tube.

Utterly useless in determining effectiveness at this stage.

Bleach kills the virus in a test tube much faster. Minutes. Maybe if you get sick you should follow your own logic, and Trump’s advice, and inject bleach.

Hell, coca cola kills the virus in much less than three days in a test tube.

Coca cola shortage in 3…2..1,,,

Your claim is bullshit, based on bullshit, and is worth shit.

The fact that doctors are desperately trying it because patents are dying and there is nothing to lose does not make it effective, we still don’t know what works and what does not. They try multiple treatments simultaneously.

That is why we are commissioning so many studies.

It may be true that it is effective in some patients in some circumstances. Maybe.

But it is also potentially deadly for patients with several conditions common with the age group most at risk for Covid complications. Liver disease, kidney disease, heart disease, heart irregularities, neurological issues, alcoholism…

Several of these contraindications are diseases people live years with without diagnosis or documented medical history.

11B-Mailclerk

The panic must continue until the Revolution!

Only if folks are miserable and hopeless can we thus make them happy in obedience to…. More free… Orange Man Bad!

Blah blah blah

You lose. And you are not even trying anymore, you sad caricature.

OmegaPaladin

The biggest problem with HCQ is Long QT syndrome, and that is an issue that has to be considered. There is a whole laundry list of drugs that cause long QT syndrome (and thus introduce the likelihood of arrhythmia) Most of the other side effects are associated with long-term use, like with malaria prophylaxis or lupus treatment.

However, your claim that in vitro data is worth shit is itself worth shit. How do you think people had the idea to try remdesivir in people? It kills SARS virus in vitro, and Wuhan coronavirus is a close relative of that virus. Doctors can use that data for speculative treatment that might save lives. Success there can lead to clinical trials.

But hey, Donald Trump mentioned it, so it is bad.

OldSoldier54

Pretty much what it seems to me.

HMCS(FMF) ret

ORANGE MAN BAD
ORANGE MAN BAD

A Proud Infidel®™

“Bleach kills the virus in a test tube much faster. Minutes. Maybe if you get sick you should follow your own logic, and Trump’s advice, and inject bleach.”

President Trump NEVER told people to inject bleach, that’s another one of your side’s talking points that has been disproved.

OWB

No need to sugar coat it. It’s another of his side’s lies, not simply talking points. (A good talking point has elements of truth with a few details strategically omitted.)

ArmyATC

Dear dumbass, I wasn’t talking about the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the drug. I was speaking directly to Chuckie Schumer’s penchant for getting his silly mug in front of cameras at every available opportunity. Reading comprehension, it’s a thing, moron. Now go celebrate some more deaths.

Commissar

Bullshit.

Schumer has been in office for more than 30 years.

Before he became the party leader in the senate 5 years ago he was rarely in the national news. Maybe once a year. And as the senior senator from New York that is not often.

The reason he is in front of cameras now is because he is the party leader and thus is the face cameras point to when senate democrats want national attention placed on an issue.

It is not because Schumer self aggrandize and seeks the spotlight.

He is doing his job,

USAF RET

wow, Commissary, that’s some Chucky Love….better get tested.

SFC D

Wipe your chin, Commissar. You’ve got Chucky-spunk dripping.

UpNorth

😁😃😁😃

E4 Mafia '83-'87

Commie-sar thought process is as follows:
Orange man bad…always and forever.
Trump repeated what a number of doctors and scientists have said through out the world that HQC prescribed by a doctor has helped some people with minimum side effects. Since Democrats see more deaths as a beneficial to their thirst for power (See blue state Govs), they don’t want anything to treat sick people being widely and cheaply available. I can’t for this guy’s head to exploded when they finally reveal the whole scope of the Russia hoax went all the way up to Saint Barry.

Stacy0311

“Schumer has been in office for more than 30 years.”

And that’s the problem in a nutshell.

A Proud Infidel®™

IMHO Schumer is yet another living piece of proof why we need Congressional Term Limits!

OldSoldier54

“And that’s the problem in a nutshell.”

Bingo!

ArmyATC

Horse manure. There’s a reason people say that the most dangerous place in DC is the space between Schumer and a camera. His self aggrandizement goes back to at least the Obama administration.

A Proud Infidel®

More like the George H.W. Bush years!

OWB

If you count his local/state entry as a career politician, his love affair with cameras probably started during the Nixon administration.

HMCS(FMF) ret

He’s a “professional politician”, Lars… a member of the “elite” that has never worked a real job a day in his fucking life. He’s been nothing but a career hogging attention whore since he walked into DC.

NHSparky

You don’t read East Coast news outlets very often, do you?

Guy has been a media whore, ever since he first got elected to Congress in 1980, and the NY Assembly since 1974.

That’s right, dipshit. 46 years as an elected hack. Never had a job to speak of since he graduated law school.

SFC D

What the duck is wrong with me?

I don’t think it’s something wrong with me, but I will not accept anything you say just because you say it. You’re not an authority on anything, you have zero credibility, yet profess to be the smartest, most educated man in the room. You’re the Chatty Cathy doll of the liberal left. Someone pulls your string, and the recording starts. I accept science, I believe in science, I do not, will not, and can not, believe in you.

Perhaps you should ask yourself the question.

Jeff LPH 3, 63-66

Schumer will just keep the obama shadow govt slow moving coup going no matter what so as to keep the virus going. Also get rid of social media, cable cnn, lsmft, the demoRat party and this will improve conditions for the CHINA virus to go away. I hope I don’t get the DemoRAT brownshirts bashing in my door at 4 AM with their Mauser rifles. Maybe I shouldn’t have said CHINA Virus. Oh well, to bad I don’t own a Claymore to place behind the door.

David

Erroneous report. Why not move the button?

11B-Mailclerk

Skill test.

OldSoldier54

hahahaha …