Craig Kelly MP condemned National COVID Evidence Taskforce’s recommendation Hydroxchloroquine By Wenci and Banshan

Picture source: 4bc.com.au

Craig Kelly is a member of the Australian House of Representatives and represents the electorate of Hughes, in , for the Liberal Party of . Following Gnews’ invitation for comment, Mr Kelly delivered a powerful parliamentary speech1 on 25 August 2020 challenging the current restriction on HCQ in Australia.

Highlights from Mr Kelly’s speech:

 Recommendation on HCQ from National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce (“Taskforce”) is not substantiated from proper trials  Evidences from the UK recovery trials that the recommendation based on are potentially false  Requesting Taskforce to relook at evidences and make separate recommendation

Mr Kelly spoke that this is the worst example of what we are currently witnessing on the war on the drug HCQ. This is not about opinion on the effectiveness of the drug. It's about whether the big-hand of government has the right to interfere in the doctor-patient relationship. The doctor cannot prescribe this drug to his patient which may save the life. That's what is currently being done in Australia at the state level. State governments that

1 https://www.palmerfoundation.com.au/craig-kelly-mp-delivers-powerful-parliamentary-speech-on- hydroxychloroquine/ are putting rulings making a doctor liable to go to prison if he prescribes HCQ to COVID patient if the doctor thinks it may save the live. The ruling is based on the findings of the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce (“Taskforce”).

Taskforce’s unsubstantiated recommendation

Taskforce’s publicised report states: “Based on the available evidence, HCQ is potentially harmful and no more effective than standard care and treating patients with COVID-19. We therefore recommend the HCQ should not be used. Evidence informing this recommendation comes from nine randomized trials that compare HCQ plus standard care to standard care alone”.

Mr Kelly challenged this recommendation with below facts:

 None of the nine trials the Taskforce reviewed assessed HCQ the way the doctors and advocate for this drug said it should be used.  The doctors say the HCQ should be used with in combination with zinc and Azithromycin, and it must be prescribed in taking in the first five days after infection. Mr Kelly believed that the nine trials really should simply be completely irrelevant to the Taskforce’s recommendation.

False evidences that concluded Taskforce’s recommendation

Taskforce’s publicised report states: “The vast majority of evidence is from the recovery trial which randomized 4716 hospital patients with COVID.”

Mr Kelly challenged the statement by laying out below facts:

 Patients overdose with the HCQ o In the recovery trials done in UK, very sick COVID patients were given a dose of 2,400 milligrams of HCQ in the first 24 hours, which is actually four to six times higher than the recommended dose. o According to French professor Christian Peronne, Professor of Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the University of Versailles-St Quentin, a dose of only 1,800 milligrams in the first 24 hours for someone that is 75KG is considered an overdose and can result in cardiac arrest and respiratory arrest.

 HCQ might have been mistaken with Hydroxquinolines o French Magazine France Soir interviewed Dr. Martin Laudray, the Head of the UK based recovery trial, to explain the decision on the 2400 milligrams dosage: dosage was chosen in line with dosages for other diseases such as amoebic dysentery2. o According to French professor Christian Peronne, HCQ is not used for treating this amoebic dysentery and Dr. Landray might have mistaken HCQ

2 http://www.francesoir.fr/politique-monde/interview-exclusive-martin-landray-recovery- hydroxychloroquine-game-over-uk with hydroxyquinolines. Professor Peronne said “this man (Dr. Landray) who calls himself doctor is incompetent and dangerous.”3

From the recovery trial, 27.5% of the people loaded up with that toxic dose died within 28 days compared to 23% who didn’t get that drug. Mr Kelly believed this is an outrage and a disgrace. However this is what Taskforce hold up as its gold standard and as the reasons to interfere in the independent doctor-patient relationship.

Yale epidemiologist strongly support HCQ

Professor Harvey Risch is epidemiologist at the Yale with almost 40 plus years of experience. Prof Risch authored a Newsweek Editorial on 23 July, calling on doctors to immediately start treating patients with HCQ4. Mr Kelly quoted Prof Risch’s statement, challenging Australia government’s ban on doctor prescribing HCQ to the patients.

 “I conclude the evidence is overwhelming. There is no question that for people who need to be treated and are treated early with HCQ has a very substantial benefit in reducing the risk of hospitalization or mortality. I am an expert in science and I can tell you the science is all one side. In fact, the science is so one-sided in supporting this result that HCQ is effective that is stronger than anything I’ve studied in my entire career”.  “The evidence in favour of HCQ benefit in high-risk patients treated early as outpatients is stronger than anything else I've done”. Mr Kelly further quoted from a very recent study from Belgium published on 24 August 2020 on International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents, which looked at 8075 hospitalized COVID patients, in which 4524 were given HCQ as a treatment. This is compared against a group of 3533 who didn’t get HCQ. The study shows that those didn't get HCQ had a 53% percent increase chance in dying5.

There are multiple observational studies demonstrating the effectiveness of HCQ, from Spain, Italy and etc. Mr Kelly argued that the chances of all these observational studies being wrong statistically are approaching zero.

There are many brave doctors worldwide who are supporting HCQ and speaking out against media group think. Mr Kelly quoted one of the doctors, Linda C from Canada, “My moral conscience won't allow me to silently watch people die and suffer. We have the means to save them.” Mr Kelly is requesting the Taskforce to look at the evidence to make separate recommendations for the use of HCQ as a prophylaxis and also in the early stage of treatment, as the current recommendations are made on evidence from late stage of treatment.

3 http://www.francesoir.fr/societe-sante/recovery-brexit-overdose 4 https://www.newsweek.com/key-defeating-covid-19-already-exists-we-need-start-using-it- opinion-1519535 5 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924857920303423 Mr Kelly quoted statement from Prof Risch in concluding his speech:

“In the future, I believe this misbegotten episode regarding HCQ will be studied by sociologists of medicine as a classic example of how extra scientific factors overrode clear- cut medical evidence. But for now reality demands a clear, scientific eye on the evidence and where it points. For the sake of high-risk patients, for the sake of our parents and grandparents, for the sake of the unemployed, for our economy and for our polity, especially those disproportionally affected, we must start treating immediately.”3

Opinion from Gnews

Mr Kelly has been a strong advocate for independent doctor-patient relationship, without interference from government, unless overwhelming evidences require government to do so. The recommendation of “DO NOT USE HCQ” by the Taskforce is not substantiated by proper observational trial, and Taskforce followed the media group-thinking. The facts from the UK recovery trials are concerning, in particular the significant overdose of HCQ and the potential mistake of HCQ with hydroxyquinolines. Overdosing the late stage infection patients with HCQ is essentially a killing, rather than a curing. The lack of due diligence of Dr Landray’s decision of the over dosage without sufficient justification for that decision may potentially make his conclusion misleading

Many of the observational trials showing the effectiveness of HCQ have been intentionally undermined by the medical experts, politician and of course media. HCQ is effective and affordable. This widely debate no doubt raise the question why? What is the hidden force behind this agenda? Here are our thoughts:

- Big pharmaceutical companies’ vaccine and expensive drug agenda. Bill Gates said in one of his interview, rate of return on vaccine investment can be as high as 200%. Big pharma group provides funding to medical authorities hence they use institutional power to lobby the authorities and politicians. - The pollicization of HCQ. We all know this year is the election year for the U.S. and Trump is the advocate of HCQ. White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Director Peter Navarro said "It's the politicization of this medicine by the mainstream media and portions of the medical community that somehow made this a battle between President Trump and them and created this undue fear and hysteria over a drug, a medicine that has been used for over 60 years relatively safely and is regularly prescribed to pregnant women if they are going to a malaria zone" 6.The Chinese Communist Party’s (“CCP”) dominant global power agenda. Dr Li-Meng Yan, a virologist from Hong Kong P3 lab who fled to US and revealed that this virus is lab engineered based on Zhoushan bat virus discovered and owned by People’s Liberation Army (“PLA”)7. This is the “plandemic” by the CCP, which the CCP will try means to prolong the impact and damage.

Close to 3,000 frontline workers in Melbourne have contracted the virus. St Vincent Hospital in Melbourne is initiating clinical trial in assessing whether HCQ protect healthcare workers

6 https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/hydroxychloroquine-has- become-highly-politicised-in-us-but-india-uses-it-widely-white-house- official/articleshow/76845656.cms 7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUWqv2dA3mg from contracting the virus while caring for infected patients8. It is an encouraging news, as healthcare workers are irreplaceable. Hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers have been infected globally demonstrated the urgency of this trial on HCQ as a prophylactic and preventative mean. Confirmed cases and death tolls in Australia keep increasing. The numbers are not numbers, they are flesh and blood. There are families behind every of the reported numbers that have been suffering physically and emotionally. And the pandemic has brought us significant health, social and economic costs which are not yet been properly discussed in a bigger scheme. HCQ is the most effective and economical mean to flatten the curve, reopen the economy and get people reconnect again. It could be the ultimate game changers to let us all see the lights at the end of the tunnel. Year 2020 keeps giving. The end of August, and Christmas is approaching. Let’s have the hope that we can celebrate the Christmas with our loved ones, rather than at the funerals.

8 https://www.svhm.org.au/newsroom/news/clinical-trial-looks-to-protect-high-risk-healthcare- workers-against-covid-19