Map of life expectancy at birth from Global Education Project.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

The ultimate outrage

 Okay, probably not. Nobody knows what the ultimate outrage is, we've fallen into a black hole of outrages and there is no bottom. But for the Commissioner of the FDA to stand up before TV cameras in the White House and tell a blatant lie because his God Emperor ordered him to is such a grotesque perversion of public responsibility, professional ethics and basic morality that I don't see any room underneath him.

Specifically, James Hahn told the world that 35 out of 100 people who would otherwise die from Covid-19 would survive if given convalescent plasma. That was a lie, which Hahn repeated to the world on orders, because Dear Leader wanted to announce a "therapeutic breakthrough" on the eve of the Republican National Convention. Obviously if Hahn had a shred of conscience or cared about his own dignity he would resign. And he should obviously be impeached. But neither will happen.

I found the NYT had the best explanation of this but it's paywalled so I'll give you Vox.

In case you don't know, this form of treatment is used for other viral infections. Blood plasma from people who have been infected contains antibodies, so the idea is it can help fight the infection if infused into actively infected people. There have been a few non-randomized, small studies of convalescent plasma for Covid-19, with mixed results. But the large scale randomized controlled trial needed to establish its safety and effectiveness has not been done. Nevertheless doctors are using it. The Emergency Use Authorization that Dear Leader browbeat Hahn into approving will not increase access to the treatment because the supply is limited and what is available is already being used. What it will do is make it more difficult to conduct the necessary RCTs.

The 35 out of 100 figure  was taken from one cherry picked study that found that people who received a low dose had a seven day mortality rate of 13.7 percent while those that received the high dose had a rate of 8.9 percent. So yeah, that's a 35% difference. The study hasn't been published and I can't find the sample size so I don't know the confidence interval on that or whether it's even considered a statistically significant difference, and I can't say anything about the overall quality of this trial. I also don't know what happened on Day 8. But in any case you don't rely on a single, retrospective study at a single site to make a claim like that. Hahn was overruling his scientific advisors, including Anthony Fauci, as a political favor to a madman. The FDA is required to be guided by science by statute. Hahn is a disgrace.

4 comments:

Dr Porkenheimer said...

https://apnews.com/a7f0e8aac34a860ad502912564681b7c

WASHINGTON (AP) — Responding to an outcry from medical experts, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn on Tuesday apologized for overstating the life-saving benefits of treating COVID-19 patients with convalescent plasma.
...
“I have been criticized for remarks I made Sunday night about the benefits of convalescent plasma. The criticism is entirely justified. What I should have said better is that the data show a relative risk reduction not an absolute risk reduction,” Hahn tweeted.

Cervantes said...

Yes, that was mentioned in the ABC News article. But it isn't good enough. He's an expert, he knew that was he was saying was wrong. It wasn't an honest mistake.

Don Quixote said...

The real mystery is how SHITLER gets people to do things he wants them to--when all he ever does is screw them. There seems to be a limitless supply of obsequious, unprincipled toadies. He fires each one, then finds a new mark. He needs to be fired, from any and every role and capacity on Earth, since he is an abomination.

Chucky Peirce said...

But if I get fired how can I keep up the payments on my vacation home/alimony/nest egg/kids' tuition?

Its way too easy to fall into that trap.