Weekly Commentary: Catastrophe not averted as misunderstanding of medical
definition of "effective" prevents use of Israeli COVID-19 treatment drug
Dr. Aaron Lerner 14 August 2021

The COVID-19 delta variant is threatening a worldwide catastrophe.

When policy makers ask physicians if there is a treatment available which
can effectively address the challenge presented by the huge number of people
hospitalized with this variant their answer is that there is no "effective"
treatment.

The problem is that the policy makers apply a layman's understanding of the
term "effective".

When physicians says a treatment is "effective" they mean that double blind
studies have established that a placebo administered in a similar fashion
doesn't have the same success.

A testing process which can take a considerable amount of time and possibly
even ethical issues during a pandemic.

When laymen say a treatment is "effective" they mean that patients who
receive the treatment respond favorably.

So when policy makers hear doctors say that it is not known yet if a given
treatment is "effective" they think that means that the treatment might not
necessarily help patients.

This when the policy makers should be asking the doctors:

"I don't really care if the treatment is no better than a placebo - just
tell me two things:

#1. Is it safe to administer?

#2. If it is administered can I expect a significantly positive result
REGARDLESS OF THE REASON?

But they apparently do not ask these questions.

This is the tragedy of the failure to roll out the Israeli EXO-CD24 for
immediate worldwide distribution

The drug was successfully tested both in Israel and in larger follow up
testing in Greece.

https://www.bhol.co.il/news/1257138 for an article about the test
results.

There is no question that the treatment is both safe and what a layman would
term "effective".

But the world waits for double blind testing so that physicians will also
call it "effective."

It is an idea drug: as the inventor, Prof. Nadir Arber of Ichilov Hospital
notes, it "can be produced quickly and efficiently and at a very low cost
in every pharmaceutical facility in the country, and in a short time
globally."

And in sharp contrast to the vaccinations, it does not have challenging
storage requirements.

And since It is inhaled rather than injected, administration of the
medication is considerably less demanding for skilled staff.

This treatment is ideal for both the "first world" and "third world".

Yes. EXO-CD24 won't stop people from being infected by COVID-19. But it
will stop them from dying. And it will make it possible for most of them to
be discharged in a matter of days so that they don't overwhelm the
hospitals.

Will decision makers finally "think out of the box" caused by the medical
definition of "effective"?
________________________________________
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il