Wednesday, January 6, 2021
By TANYA SMITH CARTWRIGHT
tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net
LOCAL physicians are disappointed with the Public Hospitals Authority for allegedly ignoring a COVID-19 treatment proposal they sent months ago that they say would convert the infection from being a potentially debilitating and deadly disease, to a mild illness of short duration.
Doctors Sy Pierre and Juliette Hepburn sent a proposal to the PHA and the Ministry of Health for consideration to use “photodynamic therapy” and “ozone therapy” on patients suffering from COVID-19.
The following is an excerpt from the proposal explaining how the therapy reportedly works: “Photodynamic therapy has a solid track record and is firmly established as a method of effectively targeting infection. Improvements in this technique over the decades have facilitated a much broader scope of action, including treatment of dangerous viruses.
“The data and publications included in this submission clearly demonstrate that the Medlouxx PPR device and protocol provides a highly effective means of treating COVID- 19 with a safe, portable, non-invasive approach.
“In spite of advanced age and the presence of comorbidities in many of the patients treated, the majority experienced mild to moderate symptoms with notably reduced rates of hospital and ICU admissions, need for ventilator equipment – and deaths.”
The Tribune reached out to Dr Pierre, a consultant physician and anaesthetist, who noted that the therapies are not new to the health industry.
Dr Pierre said: “Please note that all the therapies referred to have been available here prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as these therapies are ‘broad spectrum’ antimicrobial therapies that are safe and have been used for years worldwide.
“We also sent scientific evidence of the therapies to the physicians in charge of giving the government advice on the management of this pandemic, including both the previous and present ministers of health. However, we received either no response or minimal interest.”
Attempts to obtain comment from PHA officials proved fruitless.
However, when asked about the matter outside Cabinet yesterday, Minister of Health Renward Wells said officials follow World Health Organisation protocols for treating COVID patients.
“There is a protocol and the Ministry of Health and the Public Hospitals Authority comes under the ambit of the Ministry of Health and they are duty bound to follow the WHO protocol,” Mr Wells said.
“I’ve heard all kinds of suggestions from the health community that comes to the Ministry of Health, directly to the minister. I’ve had doctors approach me on the street and say ‘you should use Ivermectin.’ Some of them say, ‘you should use Vitamin D’ – a plethora of things. At the end of the day, I could get up and say, cerasee (bush medicine) works. I would love to know who those individuals are who made the recommendations and what recommendations they made.”
Although Dr Pierre said he sent the proposal to the former and current ministers of health, Mr Wells never confirmed or denied receiving it.
In his letter to the PHA, which was obtained by this newspaper, Dr Pierre said he and Dr Hepburn wished to offer their services to the Public Hospitals Authority to provide information and expertise on two promising treatments for COVID-19 infections – antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) and ozone therapy (OT). He also offered to assist in the implementation of these therapies to combat COVID-19 infections.
Dr Pierre, in his letter, also asked for an audience with the PHA board of directors. This never happened.
The letter read: “Together, aPDT and OT offer easily implemented, relatively inexpensive therapeutic modalities with beneficial outcomes in both early and late COVID-19 intervention. There is substantial evidence that aPDT effectively inactivates a number of dangerous viruses. One of our principals, Dr Juliette Hepburn, is currently involved in a study to further assess the efficacy of aPDT in the early treatment of COVID-19.
“A similar aPDT therapy has recently been granted breakthrough status by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), validating this approach. Likewise, OT has proven to be a broad-spectrum antiviral agent and was used effectively in a small number of patients in Sierra Leone to treat the Ebola virus. It has shown evidence of efficacy in elderly patients made critically ill by COVID-19 infection.
“We would like the opportunity to meet with the board of the Public Hospitals Authority to present further information on these treatments and to discuss possible implementation to treat both early and late-stage COVID-19 infections.”
Comments
John says...
This ‘ new’ and more rapidly spreading mutation of the COVID-19 virus is supposed to be the final stage or last phase of the pandemic according to historical data. Unfortunately is is also more deadly ( because it infects more people) but it is shorter. Lived. COVID viruses thrive when they can rapidly move from person to person, which allows it to mutate. And when everyone has had the virus or a significant amount of a population, the virus cannot survive because it cannot transpose. So by March the virus should have just about disappeared. BUT now some thirty different varieties of a COVID-19 vaccine has been introduced into the mix. What effect will this have as far as the vaccine disappearing or changing into a stronger, more deadly strain?
Posted 6 January 2021, 7:17 p.m. Suggest removal
tetelestai says...
John, I accept you at your word, but can you please also provide a source for your statement that "So by March the virus should have just about disappeared?" That would be quite helpful. Please and thank you.
Posted 7 January 2021, noon Suggest removal
bahamianson says...
Where is your research?
Posted 6 January 2021, 9:06 p.m. Suggest removal
ohdrap4 says...
He slept at the holiday inn
Posted 6 January 2021, 10:29 p.m. Suggest removal
John says...
Holiday Inn is above my pay grade. It was Days inn dude.
Posted 7 January 2021, 1:08 a.m. Suggest removal
John says...
‘ Over time, those who contracted the virus developed an immunity to the novel strand of influenza, and life returned to normal by the early 1920s, according to historians and medical experts. Reports at the time suggest the virus became less lethal as the pandemic carried on in waves.’ What we are experiencing is nothing new but something that has been resurrected by man, for whatever reason.
Posted 7 January 2021, 1:13 a.m. Suggest removal
John says...
And yes there was a period where the virus became so contagious and deadly, people would leave home for work healthy and never return home. They contracted the virus on the way to work and was dead within 22 hours . When I posted this earlier last year persons on this blog attacked me. Say I was fear mongering. But it happened here (and in Grand Bahama) last summer. Persons were admitted to the hospital suffering from Corona and were dead within hours of admission. Some never made it to the hospital. Now it’s happening in the UK and parts of the US. In parts of California, ambulance services are being told not to transport patients to hospitals if there is little chances of survival.
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.’ an unusually deadly influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. Lasting from February 1918 to April 1920, it infected 500 million people – about a third of the world's population at the time – in four successive waves. The death toll is typically estimated to have been somewhere between 20 million and 50 million, although estimates range from a conservative 17 million to a possible high of 100 million, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in human history’
Posted 7 January 2021, 1:35 a.m. Suggest removal
happyfly says...
You are talking about 5 or 6 people versus a quarter of the world population right ??? Everyone I know to date that went to work and contracted covid this year....was back at work a few days later after having mild flu-like symptoms. And I do not know anyone personally who has even had to go to intensive care, let alone died. First hand, second hand or third hand. I am not saying no one has died but if we are all going to gladly break down everything that we have spent our lives building, I sure wish it was for something a little more lethal than a 0.01% chance of dying
PS - good on this young Bahamian doctor for standing up and speaking out his truth......instead of trying to ram an experimental vaccine down our throats
Posted 7 January 2021, 11:15 a.m. Suggest removal
tribanon says...
> Minister of Health Renward Wells said officials follow World Health Organisation protocols for treating COVID patients.
It seems Wells does not appreciate that the WHO helped the very sinister and evil Communist Chinese Party (CCP) cover-up both the source and initial spread of COVID-19.
Is Wells even aware that the WHO is now for all intents and purposes totally controlled by the CCP, ever since the US decided to withdraw its financial support of this wayward organization?
Posted 7 January 2021, 9:31 a.m. Suggest removal
tetelestai says...
And your point is what? Ignore all future pronouncements from the WHO? Man, you are seriously, galactically stupid.
Posted 7 January 2021, 12:01 p.m. Suggest removal
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