This beautiful paper by Dr. Quijano was posted and shared in several Viber groups in Manila today. I don't see any online link or publication so I am reposting this here. A doctor friend and former DOH UnderSecretary, Dr. Jade del Mundo, has this to say about Dr. Quijano:
Dr. Romy Quijano belongs to Class ‘74 of the UP College of Medicine, one year ahead of me. He was a faculty member of the Department of Pharmacology of the UP College of Medicine while I was with the Department of Physiology in 1977.---------------
Loss of Common Sense
in Covid-19: The Story of Ivermectin
Romeo F. Quijano
Professor (Ret.),
College of Medicine
University of the
Philippines Manila
It is not only sense of smell that is lost in Covid-19 but
also common sense. This is quite evident in the story of ivermectin. Most
seriously affected by the loss of common sense are those in the government’s
power structure of the country’s Covid-19 pandemic response, public health
officials and “experts”, and the mainstream media. Common sense is perceiving
things as they truly are and doing things as they should be. Common sense,
however, is not just an instinctive decision resulting from sensual perception
but also a rational conclusion as a result of logical reflection. It is the
innate ability to perceive the truth behind the facade of common beliefs and
managed information dished out by the ruling elite in a basically undemocratic
society and servile citizens. Common beliefs or dogma can be manufactured but
not common sense. Common sense is doing the right thing even in the face of
common beliefs. Common sense is not the product of beliefs, tradition or
submission but of careful observation, analysis and intuition. It is also not a
product of attaining higher level of learning and education nor a result of
climbing up the ladder of social class and structures of power. As Victor Hugo
said: “Common sense is in spite of, not the result of, education.”
Government health officials and their “experts” say that
ivermectin should not be used because there are no clinical trials that show
that ivermectin is effective when used for patients with Covid-19. When
confronted with the fact that there are in fact already clinical trials in
several other countries that show the efficacy of ivermectin for Covid-19
prophylaxis and treatment, they modify their argument and say, yes there are,
but they are insufficient, more clinical trials are needed. They also mislead
people by saying that ivermectin is used only in animals. When confronted with
the fact that ivermectin was first used for parasitic infections in humans,
they say, yes, but the available ivermectin in the country is only for animals
and therefore dangerous to use in humans. When confronted with the fact that
ivermectin formulations have been registered previously and is listed in the
national formulary of essential drugs, and has long history of safety as
attested to by international bodies, they say, yes, but ivermectin is no longer registered for human use and there are serious
adverse that can happen if used in humans. When informed that some doctors are
already prescribing ivermectin to asymptomatic and mild to moderate cases of
Covid-19, based on their own analysis of available studies and experience that
the drug is safe and effective, they say, these doctors are violating the law.
When informed further that the doctors prescribing ivermectin can save lives
and is urgently needed by their patients since these patients are refused
admission by hospitals and are told that they come only when symptoms become
severe, they say, well, these doctors can apply for “compassionate use” and the
ivermectin manufacturer or supplier can apply for “emergency use authorization”.
When asked why can’t the government itself be proactive, be “compassionate” and
make ivermectin available in this Covid-19 emergency situation where countless
people are dying and ivermectin offers hope for desperate people, they hem and
haw and avoid the question, repeating what they already said and invoking rules
and regulations to be followed. They admonish people to have a little bit more
patience since vaccines are already being rolled out, repeating the mantra that
vaccines are the be-all and end-all that would solve the Covid-19 crisis.
Now, let’s go into a
little bit more details and try to make sense out of this story. The health
officials say there are insufficient clinical trials and together with various
local medical societies, they issue a joint statement saying “We do not
recommend the use of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19. It has not been
proven to significantly reduce mortality or improve other clinical outcomes.”
citing a “systematic review of 6 randomized controlled trials (RCT’s) of good
methodological quality” (1) without revealing that they receive quite a
substantial amount of largesse from Big Pharma.
They completely ignore the fact that an independent group called Front
Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) analysed a much more extensive
list of clinical trials (50 studies, 26 were randomised controlled trials). Of
the 50 studies, 98% report positive effects and 76% show lower mortality. Of
the 26 RCT’s, 96% report positive effects, with an estimated 66% improvement.
FLCCC is a group of highly published, critical care physician-scholars and
allied physicians from around the world.(2) This was corroborated by another
independent review of 11 RCT’s whose results show 62% reduction of
mortality.(3)
They say that ivermectin is used only for animals and it is
dangerous to use ivermectin for humans.
They seem to be ignorant of the fact that after about 3
decades of use in humans, ivermectin continues to provide a high margin of
safety for a growing number of indications. Numerous studies report low rates
of adverse events as an oral treatment for parasites. Even WHO have recommended
have recommended mass administration of ivermectin for filariasis, saying it is
safe and effective.(4) In fact, about 3.7 billion doses of ivermectin have been
distributed in mass drug administration campaigns globally over the past 30
years.(5) In DR Congo, between the years 2003 and 2017, the total average
population treated was around 15,552,588 with 55 deaths associated with ivermectin
treatment.(6) Compare this to 4,095 deaths due to paracetamol in England and
Wales during the same period.(7)
And why can’t the government itself be proactive and make ivermectin immediately
available in this Covid-19 emergency situation where countless people are dying
and ivermectin offers hope for desperate people? Well, they say there are laws
and rules and regulations that need to be followed, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the government has
already declared a state of emergency and the legal impediments can easily be
overcome, as the centuries old legal maxim states that the welfare of the
people shall be the supreme law, especially under a national state of
emergency. They admonish people to have a little bit more patience since vaccines
are already being rolled out, without revealing that the safety and efficacy of
the Covid-19 vaccines have been questioned by many credible independent
scientists and are fraught with serious adverse effects including deaths. They
turn a blind eye to the fact that 50,861 adverse events following COVID
vaccines, including 2,249 deaths and 7,726 serious injuries between Dec. 14,
2020 and March 26, 2021 have been reported officially in the vaccine adverse
events reporting system (VAERS) of the US.(8)
In their futile attempts to justify their irrational and
anti-people behaviour, government health officials and their “experts” seem to
forget that common sense is more important than technocratic directives,
clinical trials, bureaucratic procedures, laws, rules and regulations. The Covid-19 spectre, vaccine mania, deceptive remedial schemes
and brutal, anti-people pandemic responses
created by militarism and big money have shoved by the wayside
pro-people, more sensible and a wider range of prevention and treatment
strategies to address the pandemic. For people with independent
minds and awakened consciousness, it is a mere matter of common sense to
recognize that most governments, international bodies, academic and science
institutions, mainstream medical doctors and mainstream media are under the
effective control of Big Pharma and the global moneyed elite.
References:
1. Statement on the Use of Ivermectin As Treatment for
COVID-19
https://www.psmid.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Ivermectin-1.pdf
2. Ivermectin_FLCCC database
https://c19ivermectin.com/
3. Ivermectin for Prevention and Treatment of COVID-19
Infection: a SystematicReview and Meta-analysis
https://assets.researchsquare.com/files/rs-317485/v1/611bf808-b0eb-4a9a-b877-6d6cc8f79d54.pdf
4. Monitoring-Assessment-Mass Administration
Ivermectin_Albendazole_Filariasis-WHO
5. Ivermectin-Associated With Lower Mortality-Hospitalized
Patients-Covid-19 https://journal.chestnet.org/action/showPdf?pii=S0012-3692%2820%2934898-4
6. Severe adverse effects following community-based
ivermectin treatment-DR Congo https://bmcpharmacoltoxicol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40360-019-0327-5
7. Death from drug poisoning by paracetamol in England and
Wales 1993-2019 https://www.statista.com/statistics/471227/death-by-paracetamol-drug-poisoning-in-england-and-
wales/
8. CDC Data Show COVID Vaccine Injuries Reported to VAERS
Surpasses 50,000 https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/covid-vaccine-injuries-vaers-cdc/
---------------
See also:
Covid 27, Dr. Rafael Castillo on vaccine, Ivermectin, and lifting the lockdown, March 24, 2021
Covid 28, Drs. Villa and Landrito, Ms. Cuisia, on IVM and lockdown, April 01, 2021
Covid 29, CDC PH on WHO, Salvana attack of IVM, April 09, 2021.
