Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota announced she would be implementing a state-wide trial of the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in treating coronavirus.
South Dakota Doctors Will Prescribe Hydroxychloroquine to Willing Patients
Noem announced on Monday that South Dakota would formally test the effectiveness of the anti-malarial drug that President Donald Trump has touted as a possible cure for the coronavirus.
“From Day One, I’ve said we’re going to let the science, facts and data drive our decision-making in South Dakota,” Noem said in a statement to Fox News. “I made direct requests to President Trump and Vice President Pence to supply us with enough hydroxychloroquine so that it could be made available for every hospitalized person the state may have, as well as those for health care workers on the frontlines and those in the most vulnerable populations.”
The South Dakota governor was “pleased” to announce that initial doses needed for the trial have arrived, “and thanks to the leadership of Sanford Health and the assistance of medical teams at Avera and Monument Health, we’re going to be the first state in the nation to do a comprehensive clinical trial to assess whether hydroxychloroquine can treat and perhaps even prevent COVID-19.”
Doctors in South Dakota will now be intstructed to provide hydroxychloroquine with the antibiotic azithromycin to any willing patient who has been tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Kim Malsam-Rysdon, the South Dakota Secretary of Health said in a statement that “the health care community in South Dakota consistently works together with the state for the benefit of all our patients,” adding that she is “excited” that “patients across the state will have access to this drug, and we will learn more about its benefits in treating and even preventing COVID-19.”
A Potential Breakthrough in the Fight Against This Pandemic!
The announcement from the South Dakota governor follows one from the National Institute of Health last week, who announced that the first clinical trial for hydroxychloroquine will begin in the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Around 500 adults “who are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 or in an emergency department with anticipated hospitalization” will be participating.
RELATED: Democrat Governors Challenge Trump On National Reopening – Cuomo Calls President ‘Vicious’
This is all fantastic news! With the anecdotal evidence that suggests how effective hydroxychloroquine is, we need these studies done as fast as we can, and the more the better. If this all works out, we could be looking at a much faster end to this pandemic than many experts predicted.