The flaw in the ointment

The pharmaceutical chaos in Virginia reminds me of the great toilet paper hunt of 2020.  People rushing hither and yon for some Charmin were willing to settle for an unknown brand from Japan.  Thus goes the current  vaccine search.

I was having my annual physical and got into a discussion of COVID19.  As a patient, I have a currently unsolvable problem.  What am I to do if I am diagnosed with this Chinese Flu but my symptoms have not fully developed?  Must I watch and wait until really sick or do I immediately go to the hospital knowing my situation is not dire?  It seems to me that the American medical profession has missed a key point – namely the suppression of the virus before the onset of serious consequences requiring hospitalization.

My doctor mumbled something about infusions of plasma from recovered Covid 19 patients and mentioned some drugs used in the hospital, but really didn’t have a pre-treatment option to offer.  This is the “flaw in the ointment” that is being addressed in other places around the world.

Many of us have read about the Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) cocktail that involves zinc and an anti-biotic, but what about a ziverdo kit that substitutes Ivermectin for HCQ?  Or what about Fabiflu that attacks the RNA of the virus rather than modifying the RNA of the patient?  Why are these relatively safe drugs not available as a prophylactic?

As far as I can tell, the medical profession has not done a good job here of actually helping patients.  The chase for the vaccine above all else has become ridiculous, particularly here in Virginia.  Further, continuing chaos is caused by the various states.  Some are still in the full protect mask and distance mode while others have opened for business with mask burning  parties.  

As a patient, I have, by law, the right to try a medicine or medical procedure if confronted by a potentially terminal illness.  Why is the idea of an “outside the conventional box” treatment for COVID 19 so difficult to understand?  Are we not told daily about the death count?  

The answer appears to be politics above all.