It’s hard to know what to believe anymore – especially the reports that are coming out of China.
That country doesn’t exactly have a reputation for full transparency.
But there have been some anecdotal reports that certain Chinese patients with COVID-19 have fared better than others … despite the expectation that they would become critically ill.
There was one crucial difference between the two groups.
They were poor… by all reports, considered “peasants”… and taking a cheap heartburn drug called famotidine (a.k.a. Pepcid).
It sounds a little crazy at first…
But then again, researchers have HAD to think “outside the box” to find ways to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
A $20-million boon… or bust?
Was it just a coincidence that the feds had contracted a to compile a list of existing drugs that could be REPURPOSED to fight the novel coronavirus…
And there, right near the top of the list, was famotidine?
The theory is that the drug… which is classified as a histamine H2-receptor antagonist, a.k.a. an H2-blocker… might be able to INTERFERE with coronavirus replication by binding to an enzyme called 3-chymotrypsin-like protease.
Right now, that’s JUST a theory. No one’s ever considered famotidine an anti-viral before.
But it’s been enough to pique the interest of American scientists and government officials alike.
So, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has invested in a $20.7 million clinical trial to see if it holds water.
Only, the public didn’t hear even a WHISPER about it… until WEEKS after it was already underway.
In the double-blind randomized study, which began in early April, hospitalized COVID-19 patients are receiving high intravenous doses of famotidine… 9X higher than a heartburn sufferer would take… three times daily.
The last patient in the trial is expected to receive their final treatment by September 2020 – which means no COVID-19 patients will have taken famotidine for longer than 5 months.
That’s not a very long time for ANY drug trial – especially not one at such high doses that are being administered by IV.
But these researchers are “under the gun”…
And one look at the clinical trial write-up gives you all you need to know, right there in black-and-white.
Its primary outcome ISN’T symptom severity… or disease duration… or even transmissibility.
It’s mortality.
The researchers want to make sure that famotidine won’t KILL a COVID-19 patient who wouldn’t have died otherwise…
And that it might help a COVID-19 patient SURVIVE… when they might not otherwise without it.
There’s just one problem with that.
The patients getting famotidine are ALSO getting ANOTHER drug
They started out taking hydroxychloroquine… but as I’ve shared with you, HCQ has been BELEAGUERED by unverified data and flip-flopping policy changes around the world.
So now the researchers have switched them to Remdesivir.
Either way, when the results come out next year, we will NOT be able to attribute survival or mortality outcomes to one drug or the other on its own.
Here’s what concerns me most…
Now that word has gotten out about this previously “secret” study… pharmacies are now reporting low stock… or even ZERO stock… of Pepcid!
That’s due, in part, because it’s an OTC drug that’s generally considered “safe” – especially compared to other acid-blocking drugs like PPIs.
In fact, there’s a place for famotidine in emergency rooms, where it’s used to combat allergic reactions.
But if you’re considering bolstering your own personal supply of this heartburn med, hold your horses.
And not just because its side effects… like diarrhea, muscle aches, and headaches… pose a risk even when folks take it for the conditions it’s intended to treat.
Now is NOT the time to load up on any ol’ drug that somebody says MIGHT work.
In fact, I’d argue that if the coronavirus pandemic has taught us ANYTHING, it’s to rely on Big Pharma’s drugs AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE!
This health crisis has DISRUPTED the pharmaceutical supply chain – especially since so many of Big Pharma’s pills are actually MANUFACTURED in China!
In fact, the researchers behind this latest study kept it quiet so they could make sure they’d have enough drugs to complete the trials.
The last thing you want is to DEPEND on yet another drug… just to have it caught up in a bottleneck.
Especially not a drug that comes from a country on the other side of the world that’s been essentially SHUT DOWN by a pandemic.
And China makes MORE than just our meds — but ALSO their active ingredients and chemical precursors necessary in the manufacturing process.
Listen, I pray that experts come up with something to ease the suffering caused by COVID-19. And my heart goes out to those who’ve lost a loved one to this disease.
But I can’t sit idly by while UNSCIENTIFIC evidence is being used to make life-or-death decisions – not in good conscience.
In the meantime, keep your hopes up and your faith strong… and keep checking here in eAlert for updates.
Not buying the bridge,
Melissa Young
