Hydroxychloroquine May Have Killed 17K During COVID

A study in ScienceDirect found that an estimated 16,990 people may have died from hydroxychloroquine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Researchers wrote in the biomedicine and pharmacotherapy journal that the anti-malaria drug was prescribed to some hospitalized COVID patients across France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United States.

However, it was prescribed “despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits” and could have led to unnecessary deaths.

“The toxicity of HCQ (hydroxychloroquine) in patients with COVID-19 is partially due to cardiac side effects, including conduction disorders (ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, and QT interval prolongation),” the study’s authors wrote.

“In the absence of restriction, the number of expected HCQ-related deaths is likely to be directly related to the promotion of its prescription by scientists, physicians, and health agencies,” the authors added.

That figure primarily stems from a study published in the Nature scientific journal in 2021, which reported an 11% increase in the mortality rate linked to hydroxychloroquine prescription for COVID patients.

Several other studies found that hydroxychloroquine might have helped COVID-19 patients.

In the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, doctors in Michigan found that 26% of patients who did not receive the drug died, compared to 13% of patients who received hydroxychloroquine.

Hydroxychloroquine first gained prominence partly due to its promotion by French virologist Didier Raoult and was later championed by allies of then-President Donald Trump.