An immunocompromised New York City Councilman who underplayed the severity of his COVID-19 diagnosis in April
now says that it was actually much worse, and hydroxychloroquine saved his life.
Paul Vallone, a Democrat who represents Queens, says he took the drug along with a 'Z-pack' antibiotic
and drastically improved within days.
"
I couldn’t breathe, very weak, couldn’t get out of bed. My doctor prescribed it. My pharmacy had it. Took it that day and within two to three days I was able to breathe," Vallone told the
New York Post, adding "
Within a week I was back on my feet."
Though Vallone went public with his coronavirus diagnosis in an
April 1 Twitter post, saying he was experiencing “mild symptoms,”
his actual condition was considerably more severe. Vallone’s initial prognosis was particularly grim, as h
e also suffers from sarcoidosis, an auto-immune disease that attacks his lungs.
“We were in panic mode when I went down because I didn’t have a lot of immune response,” he said. “I needed something to stay alive.” -
New York Post
Vallone's brother, former City Councilman Peter who currently serves as a civil court judge in Queens,
is now a believer in the drug.
"I guess all those doctors who are prescribing it are right. This drug is already on the market and the patent is up so it’s cheap. A new drug won’t be. So big money does not want this drug to be used. Always follow the money," Peter said in a May 12 Facebook post.
Paul, responding in the comments section, said "
[It] saved my life."
Hydroxychloroquine, or HCQ, is a commonly used anti-malaria drug also used for decades to treat lupus and arthritis.
It became covid-19 treatment non-grata, however, after President Trump touted the inexpensive drug earlier this year - admitting to taking a course as a prophylactic against the disease.
"You’d be surprised at how many people are taking it, especially the frontline workers before you catch it. The frontline workers — many, many are taking it," Trump said in May.
