After numerous discussions
Pence says he’s not taking hydroxychloroquine – but also that he totally would.
According to the Fox News reporter who interviewed the vice president, Mike Pence said he was not taking hydroxychloroquine because his doctor had not recommended it.
But Pence added that he “wouldn’t hesitate” to use hydroxychloroquine, even though there has been little evidence that the anti-malaria drug is an effective treatment against coronavirus.
More to the point, even though people with medical knowledge say it would be dangerous to take it. Pence is too cowardly and self-serving to warn against taking it even though, unlike Trump, he probably has some clue about why it’s not a good plan.
In a memo last night, Trump’s physician, Dr Sean Conley, said of the president’s use of the drug, “After numerous discussions he and I had regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, we concluded the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.”
That makes no sense. Trump is taking it as a prophylactic rather than treatment, and anyway how did “we” arrive at that conclusion? What would that even mean? Trump knows nothing about medication or biology or any other relevant body of knowledge, so what relevance could his “conclusion” have? That physician is a lousy rotten example of a physician.
That sentence is one word too long. I fixed it:
Trump knows nothing about medication or biology or any other body of knowledge
Actually, that part is legit. The doctor can inform and advise. The doctor can act unilaterally in an emergency. The doctor can veto some actions by refusing to prescribe. But ultimately the patient is entitled to some say in their own treatment.
Trump’s “conclusion” may be ill-considered or ill-informed. It may be driven by emotion rather than evidence. But it’s still his body and his decision.
If a doctor can’t abide a patient’s decisions, the doctor’s recourse is to dismiss the patient. But that leaves the patient either without a doctor, or in the care of some other doctor who may not do as well by them. It’s a tough call.
Well, yes, I do know that Trump has no knowledge in general (but there are exceptions – he knows something about construction for instance), but I said “relevant” on purpose because I was (on purpose) confining the generalization to this one area. I know such fixes are jokes, but…
Steven, that makes sense, and I think I get it, but…even within that framework surely the doctor could have phrased it differently? Like: “After numerous discussions he and I had regarding the evidence for and against the use of hydroxychloroquine, he continued to feel that the potential benefit from treatment outweighed the relative risks.”?
Anyone remember the movie Birdcage?
I wonder if someone is just scraping the “As” off of “Aspirin” tablets and telling Trump it’s hydroxychloroquine
Medical professionals who are skeptical of so-called alternative medicine often report a shift over the last decade or so in patients’ attitudes regarding the doctor-patient relationship, fueled in part by the idea that medicine is primarily about affirming personal “choice” of these “alternatives.” If someone heard that homeopathy is good for rash, or flu, or other conditions ranging from minor to serious, a doctor who tries to inform them that it doesn’t work is insulting. Or, perhaps, just not the right fit for the consumer.
“Alternative Medicine” is defined as “medicine that has either not been demonstrated to work, or has been demonstrated not to work. Hydrochloroquine qualifies.
Of course Pence totally would take it. I’m sure everyone remembers this:
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-water-bottle-on-floor-during-meeting-pence-follows-2018-6
I’m surprised he’s not taking it already.