Dear doctors,
There has been much talk over the past week about a new drug called Hydroxychloroquine which according to anecdotal evidence shows promise to be able to help prevent patients with COVID-19 from requiring hospitalization.
Dr. Zelenko from kiryat yoel has been using a cocktail of drugs on his patients: hydroxychloroquine, in combination with azithromycin — an antibiotic to treat secondary infections — and zinc sulfate, which studies have suggested slows down virus replication in the body. He said he had been administering the cocktail to patients with shortness of breath of any age, and those over 60 years old or who are immunocompromised and exhibiting milder symptoms. He said he is not treating asymptomatic people under 60 who are healthy or low risk.
In regards to the results from Dr. Zelenko’s treatment, he said about a week ago in a video that he has seen about 650 patients. Of them around 100 of them fit the above criteria to receive his treatment plan. There were ZERO DEATHS. That is very surprising since the fatality rate for coronavirus with preexisting conditions is about 5%.
After reading the above you may be wondering, “So then why isn’t every single doctor prescribing this?”
The answer seems to be that Hydroxychloroquine has not yet been officially approved by medical establishment as a cure for coronavirus, and for some reason many doctors seem to be using this as a reason not to use this medicine.
One reason why the establishment has not came out approving Dr. Zelenko’s treatment is because hydroxychloroquine in combination with azithromycin has a slight risk of causing a heart attack. This explanation though is lacking in reason. Azithromycin is not being used to combat coronavirus. It is being used to cure secondary infections, like pneumonia. So it’s not an all or nothing, hydroxychloroquine will help for Coronavirus even if the physician does not prescribe Azithromycin. (Aside from that, none of Dr. Zelenko’s patients have had heart attacks)
Another reason why many doctors do not believe hydroxychloroquine works is because a few hospitals have tried using it to help dying patients and have reported that it did not help. This has a simple answer which many of the medical establishment are ignoring. This purposeful obliviousness is killing people. Dr. Zelenko’s treatment is not meant for dying patients. They are simply too far gone. The treatment is designed to prevent patients from ever reaching that state.
I’m begging every doctor out there from the bottom of my heart, please prescribe hydroxychloroquine for anyone experiencing shortness of breath! It can save lives! The risk factor is ZERO. Even if hydroxychloroquine does not help it will not harm. It has been in use treating malaria for decades.
Here are all the potential side effects according to Medline Plus
Headaches
loss of appetite
diarrhea
upset stomach
stomach pain
skin rash or itching
hair loss
mood or mental changes.
There is no reason not to try it! It can save lives! If in a month from now the FDA announces that it seems to be helping, I don’t know how any doctor who refused to prescribe hydroxychloroquine will not be guilty of negligent murder for all the thousands of COVID-19 victims who will die over the next month.
A CARING YID.
(TLS welcomes your letters by submitting them to [email protected])
Yes, the FDA has approved hydrochloroquine to be used for coronavirus patients.
Great article. I want to point out that there is a supplement on the market(although now low in supply due to increased demand) that acts similar to Hydroxychloriquine. It’s called Quercetin. It’s been shown to act in two ways with regards to other viruses. A. It blocks viruses from entering the cell and B. It acts as a zinc ionophore which allows zinc to enter the cell and inhibit the replication of viruses. It is a natural product, a bioflavonoid, found in apples and red onions. But is more concentrated as a supplement. Researchers in Montreal are currently investigating its effect on Covid19. I think anyone with mild symptoms(or even as a preventative) should take Quercetin along with Zinc supplements.
Correct.
Zinc Ionophores are a type of Aquaporin 3. Look up Foods that have natural quantities of Aquaporin 3 and there’s a full list of foods that would help against flues, colds and the Novel corona virus. (This is to boost your immune system. If you get really sick please be normal and don’t start eating a case of grapes instead of getting help.) Foods rich in zinc are also very easy to find and fairly common. This is a good way for a healthy person to stay healthy.
The foods containing zinc, and zinc ionophores are relatively cheap and common. Daven for B’rius, that costs you nothing and is wealth in itself.
Please do your research. As many of the foods richest in these Dietary Bio-activePphytocompounds also have antiviral and anti-bactirial properties. i.e Fresh BASIL, curcumin, ginger, lemon/citrus juice.
Sounds like the measles group all over again.
Lay people making medical decisions.
What’s wrong with that? 99% of CDC is staffed with lay people. And the other 1% is all the business men with MDs and PHDs.
Dear Caring Yid
I’m sure your heart is the right place and you are very caring but do you really think you know something the dedicated Drs in Lakewood don’t know?? They are risking their lives and their families lives to help and save others! You think they are negligent?? What is your medical background? What kind of nerve do you have to say that it’s murder?? מי שמך לאיש?? I understand that you read on the internet but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t make you a expert! As a aside al the organizations of Kiryas Yoel came out against Dr Zelenko as falsifying information…A apology to our מלאכים disguised as Drs deserve a apology!
Glad all the medical professionals are speaking out. If you watched the video from Dr. R. Roberts or actually have spoken to a dr. (yes i did, as i work in the HC world). Hydroxycloriquine can cause cardiac arrest due to a prolonged Q wave. All the dr. i spoke to said they are only giving it to pt under cardiac monitoring. But if you can get the drugs and have symptoms KOL HAKOVOD to you.
This article is irresponsible and gets some medical information completely wrong.
First of all, there is some, albeit limited evidence that Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) itself increases risk of heart attacks, even for short term usage. Due to the things HCQ is usually used for, Malaria, Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) it is difficult to disentangle the effects from the diseases themselves, but there is enough evidence that there is reason to be cautious, especially when giving it to patients over 60.
Second, all the studies on HCQ and coronavirus, both those implying it may help and those implying it doesn’t are very limited and all have flaws (though the small study out of France showing that it helped was poor quality and shows some signs of the researchers manipulating the sample to get the results they wanted).
Next, as far Dr Zelenko’s work, he is giving it to a lot of people who probably do not have Coronavirus. Even in virus hotspots, the majority of those who have some symptoms and get tested are negative. And he is giving it to people who were not even tested, the percent who actually have coronavirus is probably even lower. So, to use some numbers, lets give Dr Zelenko the benefit of the doubt and assume that 50% of the people he gave his cocktail to actually have coronavirus, so 50 people. If the death rate from coronavirus from those cohorts is 5% (like you claim) then the probability that no one from his “study” will die regardless of his cocktail is about 7.7%. And since coronavirus has a long incubation period, and many people take even more time from development of symptoms to serious symptoms and serious symptoms to death, we will need at least a few more weeks to see if his zero deaths holds up. If we use a more realistic number, that probably less than 20 people in his group actually have corona, the probability of no one dying, regardless of his cocktail is over 35%.\
Look, there are some studies showing some effectiveness, and I do think that doctors should give it out based on their individual judgement of each patient’s situation and heart attack risk, but don’t be so dismissive of those doctors taking a more cautious approach and say that they are “guilty of negligent murder”, because there is good reason to be cautious.
Dear caring yid,
You sound like u are a caring yid however one thing I would say is that you shouldn’t double guess the doctors. I am a son of a doctor in Lakewood and believe me they already know every last thing u wrote in the article and lots more so you shouldn’t have addressed your article “dear doctors”. Btw they don’t let doctors prescribe it without a positive test. Please don’t think you are “Mr know it all”.
A few points:
1) In response to those who said the doctors know this and still don’t give it so obviously it doesn’t work, one of the main adult doctors in lakewood says on his hotline that he is not prescribing it because it has not been approved for use outside of the hospital to treat COVID-19. I’m sure he’s not the only one.
2) Hydroxychloroquine does not cause heart attacks for those taking it for a short period.
3) In response to Ao, doctors can prescribe hydroxychloroquine to anyone they want in NJ. I know of a few doctors that are actually doing so. and i know patients with breathing issues that were on the verge of going to the hospital, took this medicine and began breathing easier after 2 doses.
4) There have been many saying that it isn’t working in the hospitals. But the idea of hydroxychloroquine is that it prevents the need for hospitalization. there have been many reports besides for Zelenko’s that it helps for that.
Yasher koach Caring Yid. There are many sincere, caring doctors out there. However there are also many doctors who are unable to think out of the box and take that extra mile to help people in need. Even if it means going against the ‘holy’ CDC. Dr. Zelenko who I remember when I was living in Buffalo and was in med school at the time is a very humble and caring doctor who i felt would go beyond the call of duty to help
A yid. Thank G-d his message got to the White House.
actually, Dr. Zelenko treated 669 patients who fit into his qualifications (were older than 60, had preexisting conditions or difficulty breathing)
and had zero deaths and zero intubations. only 3 hospitalizations. this is what he said in an interview last week.
This makes A Caring Yid’s points much more serious.
Its Real Simple. Lkwd has over 100 in local ER’s, many on respirators. KJ is the same size so if theres much less ppl in ER , obviously it works! period. Dr.s have to be very courageous not to follow guidelines , even if it keeps dozens a live, a/o whos not happy with outcome can sue them!!! Dr Zelenko is Moser nefesh for this. if above is true than a/o who sends to ER is endangering his patients. also see above, Querecetin is similar to Quinine and totally safe . take 1 Gram 2x a day with 30 Mg Zinc for milder cases
Lenox Hill is a prestigious hospital in Manhattan who is using hydroxychloroquine and has had zero deaths so far out of a 100 very ill patients. An oncologist there, Dr Grace, is attributing this directly to this medication.
Okay let me make this very clear. All you out there bashing this yid, YOU ARE WRONG!! I’m a nurse I see what is going on ITS CHAOS!!! Just bec this drug is not yet approved for Covid-19 it is saving lives!! If YOU were the one dying, wld you rather try an experimental drug or nothing at all. Hmmm that should not take a lot of thought. People are DYING!!! YOUNG PEOPLE!!! First of all WE MUST STRENGTHEN OUR TEFILLOS!! No question! However we have to take the proper hishtadlus! Doctors know what their doing but they are under a lot of stress right now so therefore they are nervous to start a new drug. BUT THIS STRESS IS KILLING PEOPLE!!!! The hospitals are a dangerous place right now, and we need to be able to conquer the virus even BEFORE they have difficulty breathing! So all you who are commenting may Hashem bentch you that you should continue being healthy, but do realize that it’s time TO ACT!!!! Time to give the drug a try- it may not be the best, but we have nothing to loose bec we did see Hashem send a refuah to those who sent it.
May Hashem send everyone who needs a refuah sheleima a COMPLETE refuah! And arichas yamim vshanim!!
Yidden are THE BEST!!!
It’s saving lives period. If it was YOU, you wld want them to give you the drug. Don’t blind yourself
First the Lakewood doctors I know are Tzadikim, they go Out of their way beyond to help their patients.
HAVING SAID THAT, I agree 1000 percent with the author of this article regarding Hydroxychloroquine
I personally witnessed 5 people who have been sick with fever, gotten weaker and weaker till it was hard to talk, who have been saved by this drug Hydroxychloroquine.
Their doctors did NOT prescribe it, they either ended up in the ER, (one almost didn’t make it, he ended up in a coma on a respirator…) and one was put in the ICU, a third ended up in ER mount Sinai, they gave him Hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin and after 2 days was sent home with a prescription he is doing much better. 2 others started taking it as they were starting to have difficulty breathing it helped after 2!days. One got it from Dr. Zelenko and one through a family friend doctor.
All above tested positive to coronavirus and 4 out of the 5 had pneumonia
First 2 started late in the game and it almost didn’t work.
The trick is to start as early as possible.
So why don’t the caring doctors of Lakewood prescribe it? Because they are misguided by the higher ups whose job is to guide the doctor regarding medication and it’s usage…
If we learned anything the past year is that agencies in our government CANNOT BE TRUSTED OR RELIED UPON WITH BLIND FAITH.
Not the justice department not the FDA CDC and the rest of them
No longer trust and verify
It become VERIFY and TRUST
Before you read this, please remember that if you have any symptoms of the virus, please call your doctor immediately and follow his advice!
This is from Rabbi Benzion Mutzafi, from a Kabbalistic source:
Take a cup that can hold at least eight ounces of water. Put in the cup two spoons full (it looked like a plastic soup spoon in the video) of ground cinnamon, one quarter spoon full of ground cardamom, one half spoon full of ground cloves, and one half spoon ground ginger. (You can put in a bit more of these spices, but do not put in less.) Then pour in 8 ounces of boiling water to the cup. (you can put in more water if you wish) Mix thoroughly, and then sip slowly like wine. Do not drink it faster than that.
You are not supposed to make a bracha on this, but I suggest you say the tefillah before taking medicine. If you want you can say a bracha on some regular water beforehand.
The rabbi says you only need to drink this one time in your life. (I have been taking this drink with less amounts of the spices often, but if you are experiencing any symptoms of the virus, I suggest you try to follow his exact recipe. Someone told me it is best to drink this in the morning.) And if you do not have symptoms, there is nothing wrong with taking smaller amounts of these spices in hot water as often as you would like to.
I ordered some of the spices from iherb.com (Simply Organic brand, under the KSA, which is approved by the CRC).
Refuah shelaima b’karov to all in need, and continued good health to others, b’ezras Hashem. (If anyone with symptoms tries this tea, please report in if it helped you!) Of course, make sure that you follow any other advice that your doctor tells you to do. Do not rely on this alone. AGAIN, if you have any symptoms of the virus, call your doctor immediately to seek his advice!!
To Another Suggestion: I make the same thing but with different spices. I mix 1/2 tsp of Turmeric With a dash of pepper, 1/2 tsp of ginger, and a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon and about 2-3 cups of water. I boil it for ten minutes. I take a cupful once a day.
That sounds great too! I spoke to my neighbor, a pharmacist at a local hospital. She said vitamin c infusions are working well at her hospital, and also she said everyone should take vitamin c and vitamin d at home. She did not give amounts but when I said I take the buffered vitamin c crystals, 4100 mg in a teaspoon, she said that was fine as long as it doesn’t upset my stomach. You can ask your doctor if it is ok for you to take. (Bluebonnet is the brand.)
BTW, it is very important to eat healthy foods. Do not give your kids junk food loaded with sugar. Sugar lowers the immune system.