Study suggests 17,000 deaths linked to COVID-19 treatment

In a startling revelation, a study by French scientists indicates that nearly 17,000 individuals may have lost their lives during the first wave of the pandemic after taking hydroxychloroquine.

According to a report on Politico, despite lacking evidence of clinical benefits, this anti-malaria drug was administered to coronavirus patients in hospitals, as highlighted in the researchers' report published in the February issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.

The study, conducted across six countries (France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the US), estimates the deaths associated with hydroxychloroquine use.

Derived from a 2021 Nature publication, the study reported an 11% increase in mortality linked to the drug's administration against COVID-19 due to potential adverse effects.

Researchers from Lyon, France, and Quebec, Canada, delved into hospitalization data to analyze the relative risk of death connected to hydroxychloroquine.

Importantly, the reported death toll may be underestimated, given the study's focus on only six countries during a period of heightened drug prescription from March to July 2020.

Beyond the grim statistics, the study sheds light on significant variations in hydroxychloroquine prescription rates among the studied nations, ranging from 15.6% in France to a staggering 83.5% in Spain.

Jean-Christophe Legge, leading the research team, expressed surprise at the "different and anarchic behavior" observed from hospital to hospital in terms of administering the controversial drug, as reported by Libération.

[With information sourced from Politico]