4 ms·

It seems to me that we should immediately move to massively increase production of hydroxychloroquine. If it turns out to be part of a solution, great. If not,

It seems to me that we should immediately move to massively increase production of hydroxychloroquine. If it turns out to be part of a solution, great. If not, I doubt that more than a tiny fraction of the total resources dedicated to the pandemic would have been used up by the effort. There is no time to take things slowly in our situation. In any case, from what I've read on places like r/medicine, many people who have access to hydroxychloroquine have already begun to hoard it. So one way or another, if we do not ramp up production there will be trouble. Hydroxychloroquine has been around for decades, so it's not like we would be jumping into a total mystery about its side effects. It seems to me that, whether hydroxychloroquine ultimately turns out to be effective or not, it is the closest thing we have right now to something that might prove to be a very helpful medicine.

travisporter 7y ago
Looks like they are! "The generic drug companies (Teva and Mylan, I’ve seen so far, and there’s this) that are cranking up production are doing the prudent thing – if this reads out well, we’ll need a lot of it."
waynecochran 7y ago
> If this drug isn’t useful, then sending hundreds of millions of people out to swallow all of it that they can find will be a massive waste of time and money, and will actively harm people besides. I don't think folks are reading the whole article.
- axguscbklp 7y ago
  I'm not suggesting immediately starting to dose millions of people with it. I'm suggesting massively ramping up production so that if it turns out to be useful, we can at that point immediately start dosing millions of people with it. I think it likely that the cost of massively increasing hydroxychloroquine production would be a drop in the bucket compared to the total resources being spent on tackling the crisis. So even if the drug turns out to not be effective, the attempt to mass-produce it would still have been a rational gamble.
  - mcguire 7y ago
    Note that if hydroxychloroquine is not effective, your production facilities will be tied up if you do find something else that is effective.
    - axguscbklp 7y ago
      But won't they be tied up one way or another producing something else, unless by chance they happen to currently be producing something that turns out to be important in the fight against the pandemic?
    - barbs 7y ago
      Stop making shit up, you have no idea what you're talking about.
    - Recurecur 7y ago
      Not really, you just switch in the same agile manner you did to produce quinine... I have a feeling things are about to come up roses for President Trump yet again! :-)
cm2187 7y ago
Mostly it is a tiny tiny little fraction of the economic cost of a prolonged lockdown.
pbreit 7y ago
Supply is not an issue: https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/new-commitments-mylan-and-teva-move-to-supply-tens-millions-hydroxychloroquine-tablets-to https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/new-commitments-mylan-an... We need testing that the medical community will accept.
- qes 7y ago
  > Supply is not an issue Well, I was going to order some, been researching for a couple days before buying, and in that time all stock on my known pharmacy sites is now gone.
  - hn1970 7y ago
    How does one find these sites? I've never been able to determine which are reputable
    - qes 7y ago
      I literally just googled it. Read around for people's experiences ordering. Picked one to try. Same way you'd find info about anything you're looking to buy on the internet. They delivered and the meds were clearly effective, been using the same place for a decade now. I've also tried a couple others over the years when looking for something my main site didn't carry. Never been burned.
  - pbreit 7y ago
    You shouldn't be getting it. It's prescribed in most 1st world countries. It should not be used as a prophylactic at this time. Its use should be prescribed and monitored by a doctor.
- justin66 7y ago
  That's false. Potential Coronavirus Treatment Touted by Trump Already in Shortage, Pharmacists Say https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/19/world/asia/19reuters-health-coronavirus-usa-shortages-exclusive.html https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/19/world/asia/19reut...

travisporter 7y ago

Looks like they are! "The generic drug companies (Teva and Mylan, I’ve seen so far, and there’s this) that are cranking up production are doing the prudent thing – if this reads out well, we’ll need a lot of it."

waynecochran 7y ago

> If this drug isn’t useful, then sending hundreds of millions of people out to swallow all of it that they can find will be a massive waste of time and money, and will actively harm people besides. I don't think folks are reading the whole article.

axguscbklp 7y ago
I'm not suggesting immediately starting to dose millions of people with it. I'm suggesting massively ramping up production so that if it turns out to be useful, we can at that point immediately start dosing millions of people with it. I think it likely that the cost of massively increasing hydroxychloroquine production would be a drop in the bucket compared to the total resources being spent on tackling the crisis. So even if the drug turns out to not be effective, the attempt to mass-produce it would still have been a rational gamble.
- mcguire 7y ago
  Note that if hydroxychloroquine is not effective, your production facilities will be tied up if you do find something else that is effective.
  - axguscbklp 7y ago
    But won't they be tied up one way or another producing something else, unless by chance they happen to currently be producing something that turns out to be important in the fight against the pandemic?
  - barbs 7y ago
    Stop making shit up, you have no idea what you're talking about.
  - Recurecur 7y ago
    Not really, you just switch in the same agile manner you did to produce quinine... I have a feeling things are about to come up roses for President Trump yet again! :-)

cm2187 7y ago

Mostly it is a tiny tiny little fraction of the economic cost of a prolonged lockdown.

pbreit 7y ago

Supply is not an issue: https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/new-commitments-mylan-and-teva-move-to-supply-tens-millions-hydroxychloroquine-tablets-to https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/new-commitments-mylan-an... We need testing that the medical community will accept.

qes 7y ago
> Supply is not an issue Well, I was going to order some, been researching for a couple days before buying, and in that time all stock on my known pharmacy sites is now gone.
- hn1970 7y ago
  How does one find these sites? I've never been able to determine which are reputable
  - qes 7y ago
    I literally just googled it. Read around for people's experiences ordering. Picked one to try. Same way you'd find info about anything you're looking to buy on the internet. They delivered and the meds were clearly effective, been using the same place for a decade now. I've also tried a couple others over the years when looking for something my main site didn't carry. Never been burned.
- pbreit 7y ago
  You shouldn't be getting it. It's prescribed in most 1st world countries. It should not be used as a prophylactic at this time. Its use should be prescribed and monitored by a doctor.
justin66 7y ago
That's false. Potential Coronavirus Treatment Touted by Trump Already in Shortage, Pharmacists Say https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/19/world/asia/19reuters-health-coronavirus-usa-shortages-exclusive.html https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/03/19/world/asia/19reut...