Sunday, May 10, 2020

AUSTRALIA 

‘Chaos’: A reporter’s view from inside the conspiracy theorists’ protest

17 HOURS AGO
ROSS AND JOHN


  • BELOW: 3AW and Nine News reporter Lana Murphy spent the afternoon reporting from the frontline of the protest. Scroll down to hear her tell Ross and John what she saw.
Three people have been charged and dozens can expect fines in the mail after hundreds of conspiracy theorists gathering at the steps of Victoria’s parliament yesterday
The protesters gathered under the guise of lifting restrictions but broke out in chants spruiking a range of radical fringe theories, including anti-vaxxers and the idea that coronavirus was a 1970s invention, and that “it’s all in Old Testament”.
The protest was a clear breach of health orders, prompting police to step in.
Many protesters refused to disperse, and it’s alleged several protesters then turned violent against police.
Ten people were arrested and a police officer was taken to hospital with rib injuries.
Three of those arrested have been charged with assaulting a police officer.
Police intend to use footage from the protest to identify and fine potentially dozens of more.
3AW and Nine News reporter Lana Murphy spent the afternoon reporting from the frontline of the protest.
Click PLAY to hear her tell Ross and John what she saw

FULL STATEMENT FROM VICTORIA POLICE

While Victoria Police respects the public’s right to protest, the health and safety of every Victorian needs to be our number one priority at this time.
Victoria Police made it very clear that if a planned protest was to proceed today, it would be in direct contravention of the Chief Health Officer’s current directives.
At the protest on Spring Street today, police arrested 10 people, including two organisers of the event. OC spray was deployed during an arrest of one individual.
The majority of those arrested were for failing to comply with the Chief Health Officer’s directions. Three of the offenders will also be charged with assaulting a police officer, and another offender will be charged with discharging a missile after allegedly throwing a bottle at police.
All offenders were released pending summons.
As a result of the protest activity, a police officer who was in attendance has been taken to hospital for what is believed to be a rib injury.
When attending the protest today, the priority for police was to quickly arrest those individuals who were acting unlawfully and inciting others to breach the Chief Health Officer’s directions.
Once police made arrests, the crowd started to disperse.
Police are continuing to investigate the events of today in order to identify other people who were in attendance. Once individuals are identified, we will be issuing them with fines and will consider any other enforcement options.
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OSU study shows grange a 'natural partner' for expanding health outreach

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

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IMAGE: THE WILLAKENZIE GRANGE HALL BUILDING IN EUGENE, ORE. view more 
CREDIT: COURTESY LILLY ANDERSON, OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- In the ongoing struggle to address health care disparities in rural communities across the U.S., a recent Oregon State University study found that the perfect partner may be hiding in plain sight.
The grange, founded in 1867 and officially titled the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a community-based organization that is likely familiar to anyone who's spent time in a small town or attended a county fair. In addition to political advocacy on behalf of farmers, the grange's missions around community and family also align closely with the goals of public health.
OSU's study, recently published in the Journal of Community Health, reviewed scientific literature that mentioned the grange, in both medical and agricultural publications. Researchers also pored over the grange's own materials to assess the organization's key messages for the past two decades.
A significant portion of those publications dealt with the study's domains of health and health care, social cohesion and community context, economic stability -- including food instability -- and the neighborhood and the built environment.
"It's this overlooked source that's been there this whole time. They've been in the community for more than a hundred years," said Veronica Irvin, assistant professor in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences and one of the authors of the paper. "They have community support, they have physical space, they have similar missions to public health -- it's this natural partner that we've just not met up with."
Compared with big cities, rural communities have less access to health care services. The populations are generally older than urban populations; the towns have fewer walking paths and other places dedicated to physical activity; and despite being centered around farms, many rural areas are termed "food deserts" because of limited availability of healthy foods.
Those issues are all relevant to grange members, said Susan Noah, master of the Oregon State Grange and co-author of the paper.
"Everyone is becoming more and more conscious of what it means to be a healthy society, especially as it relates to food and agriculture," she said.
While individual granges have different areas of focus, they all have physical buildings equipped with kitchens and classroom space, which has allowed them to partner on several health initiatives, including blood drives, mental health awareness classes and Alzheimer's caretaker education programs. In Philomath, the Marys River Grange has hosted a low-cost medical clinic for farm workers.
Now, researchers and grange leaders hope the new findings will spur greater collaboration with health care providers, including as communities start to reopen from COVID-19 shutdowns.
As with most fraternal organizations, the grange's membership is aging. But it's working to adapt and bring in new people, Noah said. There's no longer a requirement that members be actively involved in agriculture, and many granges are now focusing on sustainable practices, growing your own food and eating local. Some are offering yoga and jazzercise classes.
Noah sees the grange playing an important role in helping communities recover from the social isolation caused by COVID-19, as well as potentially becoming a source of trusted, evidence-backed information for members with questions about the virus.
Lead author Lilly Anderson, a 2019 OSU master's in public health graduate, says more coordination between the grange and public health organizations could help avoid unnecessary duplication of effort and allow them to work in tandem more often.
"This very well-established and trusted community resource is in a position to be an excellent partner for public health in rural areas where we desperately need it," she said. "I think if we combined resources and gave them some much needed publicity for their good work, we could really increase our outreach in these areas."
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Ancient DNA paints genetic portrait of Andes civilizations

UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE



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IMAGE: IMAGE OF MACHU PICCHU FROM PIXABAY view more 
CREDIT: FROM PIXABAY

An international team of researchers including the University of Adelaide, has completed the first large-scale study of DNA belonging to ancient humans of the central Andes in South America and found early genetic differences between groups of nearby regions, and surprising genetic continuity over thousands of years.
In the study, published in the journal Cell, researchers analysed the DNA of 89 ancient humans who lived in the central Andes between 500 and 9,000 years ago, and compared it with the genetic diversity of present day occupants, to shed light on the genetic changes over time.
The ancient remains included 65 newly reported humans never before studied.
Associate Professor Bastien Llamas from the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, who was part of the research team, says there are many unanswered questions about the population history of the central Andes and in particular the large-scale societies that lived there including Inca, Tiwanaku, Moche and Wari.
"We know from archeological research that the central Andes region is extremely rich in cultural heritage, however up until now the genomic makeup of the region before arrival of Europeans has never been studied," he said.
"While archaeological records play a role in connecting cultures, studying ancient DNA can provide a finer grain picture.
"For example, archaeological information may tell us about two or three cultures in the region, and eventually who was there first, but ancient DNA can inform about actual biological connections underlying expansion of cultural practices, languages or technologies."
In the study, researchers found that genetic differences between the people of the central Andean Highlands and Coastal regions were in place as early as 9,000 years ago; with a north-south substructure of the Highlands developing by 5,800 before present (BP). These differences are still apparent in people living in those areas today.
After 5,800 BP there was evidence of genetic mingling, indicating movement of the Highlands people between north and south, central and coastal regions. However, the migrations appear to slow down by 2,000 BP, with minimal changes to the genetic structure of the central Andean region between 2,000 and 500 BP.
"This was quite surprising given this period saw the rise and fall of many large-scale Andean cultures such as Moche, Wari and Nasca, and suggests that these empires implemented a cultural domination without moving armies," Associate Professor Llamas said.
There were two exceptions to the slowing of migration, and these were within the Tiwanaku and Inca populations, whose administrative centres were largely cosmopolitan - people of diverse ancestries living side-by-side.
"It was interesting to uncover signs of long-range mobility during the Inca period. Archaeology shows Incans occupied thousands of kilometres from Ecuador through to northern Chile - which is why when Europeans arrived they discovered a massive Inkan empire, but we found close genetic relationships between individuals at the extreme edges of the empire," Associate Professor Llamas said.
Scientists across eight countries and multiple institutions were involved in the study including Harvard University, the Max Planck Institute, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. The key members of the team were from Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Peru where the ancient remains originated.
"Ancient DNA is fascinating because it literally connects past and present people, but it is only by engaging early on and continually with local communities and governments, and with scholars who work closely with these communities, that we can perform research that respects people's cultural heritage and provide results that are truly meaningful," said Associate Professor Llamas.
Associate Professor Llamas, who has been studying ancient DNA within South America for more than 10 years, says that the study has expanded previous research, which provided an overall picture of the whole continent and how people arrived in migration waves.
"We hope this more detailed genetic picture of populations of the central Andean Highlands will allow archeologists to ask new questions about the history of the region and will lead to further cultural learnings and strengthen collaboration with local communities," he said.
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Canadian study finds temperature, latitude not associated with COVID-19 spread

School closures, physical distancing and public health measures have effect
CANADIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION JOURNAL 

Temperature and latitude do not appear to be associated with the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to a study of many countries published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) http://www.cmaj.ca/lookup/doi/10.1503/cmaj.200920, but school closures and other public health measures are having a positive effect.
"Our study provides important new evidence, using global data from the COVID-19 epidemic, that these public health interventions have reduced epidemic growth," says Dr. Peter Jüni, Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, and St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario.
The Canadian study looked at 144 geopolitical areas -- states and provinces in Australia, the United States and Canada as well as various countries around the world -- and a total of more than 375 600 confirmed COVID-19 cases. China, Italy, Iran and South Korea were excluded because the virus was either waning in the case of China or in full disease outbreak at the time of the analysis in others. To estimate epidemic growth, researchers compared the number of cases on March 27 with cases on March 20, 2020, and determined the influence of latitude, temperature, humidity, school closures, restrictions of mass gatherings and social distancing measured during the exposure period of March 7 to 13.
They found little or no association between latitude or temperature with epidemic growth of COVID-19 and a weak association between humidity and reduced transmission. The results -- that hotter weather had no effect on the pandemic's progression -- surprised the authors.
"We had conducted a preliminary study that suggested both latitude and temperature could play a role," says Dr. Jüni. "But when we repeated the study under much more rigorous conditions, we got the opposite result."
The researchers did find that public health measures, including school closures, social distancing and restrictions of large gatherings, have been effective.
"Our results are of immediate relevance as many countries, and some Canadian provinces and territories, are considering easing or removing some of these public health interventions," says Dr. Jüni.
"Summer is not going to make this go away," says Prof. Dionne Gesink, a coauthor and epidemiologist at Dalla Lana School of Public Health. "It's important people know that. On the other hand, the more public health interventions an area had in place, the bigger the impact on slowing the epidemic growth. These public health interventions are really important because they're the only thing working right now to slow the epidemic."
The authors note several study limitations, such as differences in testing practices, the inability to estimate actual rates of COVID-19 and compliance with social distancing.
When deciding how to lift restrictions, governments and public health authorities should carefully weigh the impact of these measures against potential economic and mental health harms and benefits.
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Riot police chase Hong Kong Mother's Day protesters

AFP / ISAAC LAWRENCEAn undercover Hong Kong police officer arrests a pro-democracy demonstrator during a protest calling for the city's independence from China
Riot police chased protesters through Hong Kong's shopping malls and streets on Sunday as democracy activists launched Mother's Day flash mob rallies calling for independence and for the city's unpopular leader to resign.
The semi-autonomous Chinese city was convulsed by seven straight months of often violent pro-democracy protests last year, with millions hitting the streets.
Mass arrests and the coronavirus pandemic ushered in a period of enforced calm.
But with the finance hub successfully tackling its COVID-19 outbreak, small protests have bubbled up once more in the last fortnight.
AFP / ISAAC LAWRENCESmall flash mob demonstrations broke out in at least eight malls, prompting riot police to rush in and disperse heckling crowds of activists and shoppers
Small flash mob demonstrations broke out in at least eight malls throughout Sunday afternoon, prompting riot police to rush in and disperse heckling crowds of activists and shoppers.
At least three arrests were made while groups of officers conducted multiple stop and searches.
Live broadcasts also showed police issuing $2,000 ($260) on-the-spot fines to those allegedly breaching emergency anti-virus measures banning more than eight people gathering in public.
AFP / ISAAC LAWRENCEIn the evening, clashes spilled into the streets, with police using batons and pepper spray in the busy commercial neighbourhood of Mong Kok and making more arrests
Hong Kong celebrates the American Mother's Day, and protester chat groups had pushed the occasion to focus on chief executive Carrie Lam, a Beijing loyalist appointee.
At the start of last year's protests, Lam likened herself to an exasperated mother -- and protesting Hong Kongers to demanding children -- in comments that only poured oil on the fire of public anger at the time.
Authorities banned an application for a Mother's Day march, so small groups of masked protesters instead played cat and mouse with police in different shopping centres, a tactic used frequently last year.
"This is just a warm-up, our protest movement needs to start again," a university student who gave his name as "B" told AFP.
"It's a sign that the movement is coming back to life. We all need to wake up now."
AFP / ISAAC LAWRENCEPolice detain a group of people during a pro-democracy protest calling for Hong Kong's independence from China on Mother's Day 2020
In the evening, clashes spilled onto the streets, with police using batons and pepper spray in the busy commercial neighbourhood of Mong Kok and making more arrests, including of a pro-democracy lawmaker.
Lam, who has been staunchly backed by Beijing, has record-low approval ratings.
She has resisted calls for universal suffrage or an independent inquiry into the police's handling of the protests.
In the New Year, she vowed to heal the divisions coursing through Hong Kong, but her administration has offered little in the way of reconciliation or a political solution.
AFP / ISAAC LAWRENCEHong Kong riot police hold back reporters during an operation to arrest pro-democracy demonstrators
Arrests and prosecutions have continued apace, while Beijing's offices in the city sparked a constitutional row last month by announcing a greater say in how Hong Kong is run.
Plans to pass a law banning insulting China's national anthem sparked scuffles in the city's legislature on Friday.
Top Beijing officials have suggested opposition lawmakers who blocked the bill with filibustering could be prosecuted and have also called for a new anti-sedition law to be passed.
Hong Kong began to ease major social distancing measures on Friday with bars, gyms, beauty parlours and cinemas reopening after the financial hub largely halted local transmissions of the deadly coronavirus.
Most of Hong Kong's entertainment venues were shuttered in early April when the city suffered a second wave of infections -- primarily residents returning from Europe and North America as the pandemic spread rapidly there.
But health officials made impressive headway thanks to efficient testing, tracing and treatment programmes, with just over 1,000 infections and four deaths.
 
   
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Rhino killed as poaching attempts increase amid India virus lockdown

AFP / Biju BOROHunting and habitat loss have slashed the number of one-horned rhinos to just a few thousand, almost all in the northeastern Indian state of Assam
A rare one-horned rhino has been killed as poaching attempts increase in one of India's best-known national parks during the coronavirus lockdown, officials said Sunday.
The lack of vehicles on the highway near Kaziranga National Park in Assam state -- home to the world's biggest population of one-horned rhinos -- amid the lockdown has seen animals move towards the boundaries, making them vulnerable to poachers.
"It is suspected that the rhino was killed at least two to three days ago," the park's director P. Sivakumar told AFP, adding that the rhino's horn was also missing.
Hunters can earn as much as $150,000 for one rhino horn or around $60,000 per kilo on a black market according to media reports, serving foreign demand for its use in traditional Chinese medicine.
"We have also recovered eight rounds of empty cartridge of AK 47" automatic rifle, Sivakumar said.
The rhino carcass was found near a water body inside the park, he said, adding that it was a confirmed poaching incident.
Officials said it was the first poaching case in the UNESCO-listed heritage site in a year. Previous years had seen numerous poaching incidents.
Officials said poaching attempts have increased in and around the park since the start of the nationwide lockdown in late March.
In April, more than five attempts to slaughter the rare creatures were thwarted by park rangers and a special rhino protection force set up by the state government.
The one-horned rhinos used to be widespread in the region but hunting and habitat loss has slashed their numbers to just a few thousand, almost all in the northeastern state of Assam.
Their main haven now is Kaziranga, with 2,413 of the animals living there, according to a 2018 count.
The 850-square-kilometre (330-square-mile) park, created in 1908 after the wife of the British viceroy visited and complained there were no rhinos, is also home to tigers, elephants and panthers.
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With prices down and jobs leaving, US oil workers learn patience

AFP/File / Paul RatjeOil pumps in Eddy County, New Mexico, part of the Permian Basin crude oil field hit hard by the brutal drop in petroleum prices
Wait for an upturn, or pick up stakes and look for work elsewhere? That's the dilemma facing oil workers around Carlsbad in New Mexico, where a brutal drop in petroleum prices has hit the local economy hard.
Many oil workers in the arid southwestern state have already left the campgrounds where they had parked their RVs, after being drawn here by exceptionally high salaries.
In this dusty town in the Permian Basin -- site of the planet's largest oil and natural gas deposits, astride the Texas-New Mexico border -- a worker can earn $100,000 or even $150,000 a year, twice or more than the average private sector wage there.
- Salary cuts -
AFP/File / Paul RatjeClenon Weaver, 34, a welding inspector from Texas, poses with his truck and trailer on May 6, 2020 in Carlsbad, New Mexico; like many other oil-field workers, a sharp drop in prices has left his future unclear
Clenon Weaver, a 34-year-old welder sitting in the shade outside his camper, said he had told his wife back in Texas, "I'm bummed that I'm not going to work, but I'm excited to get to come home and see y'all."
Weaver, who is trying to take things in stride -- "laughing and cutting up (making jokes) makes everything easier," he said -- plans to take a few weeks to enjoy being with his wife, their daughters and new baby girl in their home near Houston, a 10-hour drive away.
After that, he plans to start looking for work again.
Thousands of people in the Carlsbad region work in the oil business -- drilling or operating wells, or building or maintaining pipelines.
Like Weaver, many of them live in "man camps" just outside the city. In a region where real estate prices have soared after a decade of booming oil prices, they pay $600 to $900 a month for a spot to park their camper and pickup truck.
Many of these oil workers -- known colloquially as "roughnecks" because of their grueling, physical outdoor work -- have lost their jobs in recent weeks.
On April 20, the price of a barrel of American crude oil fell so sharply that it even moved briefly below zero, as storage tanks filled up amid the collapse in demand occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.
This past week, the Permian Basin had fewer than half the active oil rigs it had a year earlier.
Sitting on a folding chair outside his camper, Benjamin Loreto says he feels fortunate to still have a job, even if his hours have been scaled back.
The 48-year-old pipeline foreman said his pay has been cut by $5 an hour and his work week sliced in half, from 80 hours to 40.
"A lot of people, they don’t got a job," he said, the raucous sound of Guns N' Roses coming from a nearby speaker. "They (are) right here, but they don't work. They just hanging around, see if something comes up."
The region is not the easiest to live in, said Jace Gentry, a 21-year-old refinery worker, who looks forward to getting back to his native Louisiana after being laid off.
"I hate it out here," he said, one knee on the ground as he stroked his pet puppy. "It's sandy and dusty; can't get a breath of fresh air no matter how hard you try."
Still, he adds, "you can't beat that money," especially for someone, like him, without a college degree.
"People (would) do really anything, they'll live anywhere to get it."
Carlsbad has seen oil prices fall before. People remember how, in 2016, the price of a barrel fell below $30.
In this country of "black gold," these fluctuations are nothing new. But for younger workers experiencing it for the first time, the drop has been jolting.
- 'It's our life' -
AFP/File / Paul RatjeTwenty-year-old Amber came to the Carlsbad area from Texas with her boyfriend hoping oil-field work would mean a better life; now she's unsure what the future might hold
Twenty-year-old Amber, who declined to give her last name, left home last year. She now works in a supermarket and lives in a camper with her boyfriend, an oil-field worker.
"The situation we're in kind of gets my anxiety up," she said. Oil is "what we're depending on. It's our life, you know, so if it goes down, we're kind of left stuck."
Many oil-dependent companies here are surviving only thanks to the administration's emergency relief plan for small and medium-sized companies.
With no orders coming in from oil producers, some wells have had to close. "We didn't have anything to work on," said Michael Bassett, operations manager for an oil services company.
To keep the company's welders working in the meantime, he said, his boss had them converting surplus lengths of wire into barbecue grills.
"Until recently, this was a good town to get back on your feet," said Michael Garner, who manages a recreational-vehicle park and previously worked in construction and welding. He's lived most of his life in Carlsbad.
Of the 120 sites in his normally full campground, 30 have fallen vacant since oil prices began to drop.
AFP/File / Paul RatjeMichael Garner, who manages an RV park outside Carlsbad, New Mexico, poses with his dog, Pretty Girl, on May 8, 2020; Garner has lost about 30 tenants as the sharp drop in oil prices has led to petroleum-sector layoffs
Here in Carlsbad, where unemployment was a scant three percent just two years ago, people know that black gold can turn to lead in a moment.
Garner is philosophical about it. "Anyone that's done oilfield very long knows it's up and down; it climbs gradually and it drops like a stone; when it drops, it drops fast.
"You learn to save some money."
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Schumer calls on VA to explain use of unproven drug on vets


WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate’s top Democrat on Sunday called on the Department of Veterans Affairs to explain why it allowed the use of an unproven drug on veterans for the coronavirus, saying patients may have been put at unnecessary risk.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said the VA needs to provide Congress more information about a recent bulk order for $208,000 worth of hydroxychloroquine. President Donald Trump has heavily promoted the malaria drug, without evidence, as a treatment for COVID-19.

Schumer’s request comes after a whistleblower complaint filed this past week by former Health and Human Services official Rick Bright alleged that the Trump administration, eager for a quick fix to the onslaught of the coronavirus, wanted to “flood” hot spots in New York and New Jersey with the drug. Major veterans organizations have urged VA to explain under what circumstances VA doctors initiate discussion of hydroxychloroquine with veterans as a treatment option.

“There are concerns that they are using this drug when the medical evidence says it doesn’t help and could hurt,” Schumer said in an interview with The Associated Press.





He said given the fact the malaria drug, despite being untested, had been repeatedly pushed publicly by Trump, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie must address whether anyone at the department was pressured by the White House or the administration to use hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.

Schumer said Wilkie also should answer questions about a recent analysis of VA hospital data that showed there were more deaths among patients given hydroxychloroquine versus standard care, including how much patients knew about the drug’s risks before taking it.

In a statement Sunday, VA spokeswoman Christina Noel called it “preposterous” for anyone to suggest that VA would make treatment decisions based on anything other than “the best medical interests of patients.”

“VA only permits use of the drug after ensuring veterans and caretakers are aware of potential risks associated with it, as we do with any other drug or treatment,” she said.

Wilkie in recent weeks has denied that veterans were used as test subjects for the drug and that it was instead administered at government-run VA hospitals only when medically appropriate, with mutual consent between doctor and patient.

Still, Wilkie and the department have repeatedly declined to say how widely the drug was being used for COVID-19, including how many veterans were given the drug, and whether VA doctors were given guidance by VA headquarters on specific scenarios when it should be used.

In a weekly call with veterans’ groups this past week, Wilkie continued to defend VA’s use of hydroxychloroquine. He dismissed the recent analysis of VA hospital data showing no benefits to patients, suggesting the poor outcomes were because the cases involved older, very sick veterans.

“Use of this medication for treatment of COVID-19 is considered ‘off label’ — perfectly legal and not rare,” he wrote in an April 29 letter to veterans’ groups.

The analysis of hospital data, done by independent researchers at two universities with VA approval, was not a rigorous experiment. Researchers analyzed medical records of 368 older male veterans hospitalized with confirmed coronavirus infection at VA medical centers who died or were discharged by April 11.

About 28% of veterans who were given hydroxychloroquine plus usual care died, versus 11% of those getting routine care alone.

The VA recently said most of its recent bulk order for hydroxychloroquine was being used for approved uses, such as treating lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, but it didn’t provide breakdowns.

Wilkie in recent weeks took advocacy of the drug even further than Trump by claiming without evidence that it has been effective for young and middle-aged veterans in particular. In fact, there is no published evidence showing that.

Veterans are “very concerned that we still do not have clarity on the VA’s past and present use of hydroxychloroquine in treating veterans with COVID-19,” Jeremy Butler, chief executive officer of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told the AP.

“Now that the federal government issued an emergency use authorization for remdesivir to treat COVID-19, we need answers to these questions as well as the VA’s plans for administering, or not administering, remdesivir,” he said. That action by the Food and Drug Administration came after preliminary results from a government-sponsored study showed that remdesivir shortened the time to recovery by 31%, or about four days on average, for hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

In a tweet Sunday, former VA Secretary David Shulkin urged the department to immediately curtail use of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19. “With studies showing no benefit, VA should restrict use exclusively to clinical trials,” he wrote. Shulkin was fired by Trump in March 2018, and Wilkie replaced him.

Schumer said his main concern is determining whether the VA had conducted any “clandestine studies to determine whether hydroxychloroquine was effective without their permission.” He said there’s also concern that the department won’t address specifically where the drug was sent.

“These are people who risked their lives for us,” Schumer said. “They should be treated only with the utmost dignity, respect and high standards of care.”

The drug has long been used to treat malaria and other ailments. A few, very small preliminary studies suggested it might help prevent the coronavirus from entering cells and possibly help patients clear the virus sooner. But the FDA last month warned doctors against prescribing the drug for COVID-19 outside hospitals because of the risks of serious side effects and death.

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