A new medication, invented by a Jewish doctor in New York, may soon be approved in the US.
The experimental treatment combines the malaria treatment hydroxychloroquine and other medications, which Dr. Vladimir Zelenko claims to have used to treat nearly 700 coronavirus patients.
In an interview with the Forward, Dr. Zelenko, a family physician, admitted that his cocktail "was new and untested, and that it was too soon to assess its long-term effectiveness." He also said that he does not test most of his patients for coronavirus, due to the delays which would be caused by waiting for the test results.
But he told the Forward that he believes the rewards of implementing his treatment method are much greater than the risks of waiting to verify its efficacy.
According to the Washington Post, Dr. Zelenko has been contacted by US President Donald Trump's new chief of staff, Rep. Mark Meadows, and that White House experts are evaluating the protocol.
Reports also said that US Vice President Mike Pence has urged the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expedite the bureaucratic process so that Dr. Zelenko's medicine, which also includes antibiotics, zinc, vitamins, and anti-fever medication, will be available for use with coronavirus patients.
On Monday, the FDA approved experimental treatments using chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, anti-malaria drugs for emergency coronavirus treatment.
Recent studies have shown that hydroxychloroquine given together may improve outcomes for coronavirus patients, and that zinc may decrease the morbidity of lower respiratory tract infections.
Meanwhile, leaders and community groups in Dr. Zelenko's hometown of Kiryas Joel have requested he cease publicizing his new medication, or else leave them out of his statements, after he wrongly claimed that 90% of the town's population had coronavirus - a statement which the county health commissioner blasted as "irresponsible" in light of the fact that he had only tested 14 patients.