DOH and FDA should open up to alternative cures

Desperation is something that is most familiar to many Filipinos these days with cases of infection at record levels plus the possibility of extending the currently extreme lockdown in the coming weeks; people don’t want to get sick, but neither do they want to starve.

That said, no wonder our stay-at-home communication lines are getting flooded with discussions on cures, from the different kinds of vaccines available in the world, to the more controversial cures, like the Western medication ivermectin to treat river blindness and the Chinese traditional herbal medicine called Linhua Qingwen.

On the vaccine, hesitancy is still a big concern among Filipinos. However, its availability for 70 to 85 percent of the population to achieve herd immunity is a bigger issue, especially with richer countries fighting to stock up on vaccine supplies to enable their economies to get back to normal.

With the world edging to three million deaths and waves of new infections feared in poor countries that cannot afford mass vaccinations, this pandemic is far from over. In fact, for the Philippines, the earliest estimate of us being out of the woods is late 2022.

By that time, this virulent virus may likely have spent itself to oblivion, so much so that world health authorities would be ready to call the end to this pandemic even if vaccinations are unable to reach majority of the world’s population. Many more will have died, but many more would be thrown deeper into poverty.

Searching for alternatives

At the start of the pandemic last year, high mortality rates of those affected by COVID-19 prodded a group of critical care physicians from across the globe to research and develop lifesaving protocols for the prevention and treatment of the virus at all stages of illness in May last year.

The group, calling themselves Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), developed several recommended responses for infected patients, but only in October last year did they prescribe the use of Ivermectin as part of a preventive and early outpatient treatment protocol for COVID-19.

Reported successes in preventing and treating COVID-19 had convinced many doctors and health workers to endorse and even advocate for its adoption. But it had also stoked regulatory agencies and skeptical members of the health profession to oppose.

FLCCC argues that it has accumulated enough clinical data that should allow ivermectin’s use under Principle 37 of the Helsinki Agreement on Medical Research, much like what was invoked for in the use of hydroxychloroquine, convalescent plasma, remdesivir, monoclonal antibodies, and the anti-IL-6 therapy.

In extraordinary times like this pandemic, Principle 37, which says that “physicians may use an unproven intervention if in the physician’s judgment it offers hope of saving life, re-establishing health or alleviating suffering,” can and should be raised.

If the use of the Ivermectin-based therapy does not work out, much like what happened with hydroxychloroquine, then that treatment could be thrown out. Until then, people desperate to live should have the option to try a drug that’s easily available from drugstores at a fraction of other COVID-19 cures.

With Ivermectin’s reputed prophylactic capabilities against the virus, people who have little chances of getting any one of the recommended vaccines should also be allowed to consider it as an option – more so since its widespread use in humans (over four billion doses already administered) over the last four decades has proven it as a safe drug. Take note, Eric Domingo of the Food and Drug Administration.

I hope the Department of Health (DOH) does not go after me, much like what it had done to doctors who had been recommending Ivermectin in a COVID-19 prophylactic and treatment therapy.

‘Traditional’ medicines

Less controversial currently is the prescription of traditional herbal medications like the earlier mentioned Linhua Qingwen from China. Our FDA had ruled that this could not be used to treat COVID-19, even as China’s health authorities have already allowed its use in early infections.

Linhua Qingwen, which can be purchased at major local drugstores, is just one of many Chinese traditional medicines authorized in China for the treatment of influenza and other respiratory diseases, including COVID-19. It contains forsythia, isatis root, and almond.

Asians are more tolerant of herbal medicines, these being a part of the culture; on the hand, Western health regulators have often challenged their efficacy. Traditional medicines are, however, gaining some traction after China committed to adopt these in all areas of medical care by 2030.

A growing number of Filipinos have also been using herbal medicines, Linhua Qingwen in particular, for the early treatment of the coronavirus, and some prominent politicians has even endorsed quite convincingly its use through testimonials.

Linhua Qingwen, like Ivermectin, is available at affordable prices, although it is not recommended as a prophylactic. The Chinese medicine’s pharmacology dates back to 2002 after the SARS outbreak, and its popularity now in other countries like Canada, Brazil, Indonesia, and Thailand has prompted its manufacturer, Yiling, to ramp up production.

DOH and FDA must come up with alternatives to protect Filipinos’ lives and preserve health in these trying times. Instead of harassing doctors who are bravely trying to find prophylactic regimens and alternative cures, why not take a closer look at the practice data they have so far accumulated.

If the DOH and FDA had allowed the use of hydroxychloroquine and other equally toxic drugs that had eventually proven not effective, would Ivermectin or traditional Chinese medicines be any riskier?

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