Flutterby™! : Hydroxychloroquine, COVID-19, and excess deaths

You may remember from back in April 2021, Mortality outcomes with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in COVID-19 from an international collaborative meta-analysis of randomized trials. Looking at that data, we get to Deaths induced by compassionate use of hydroxychloroquine during the first COVID-19 wave: an estimate:

During the first wave of COVID-19, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was used off-label despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits. Since then, a meta-analysis of randomised trials showed that HCQ use was associated with an 11% increase in the mortality rate. We aimed to estimate the number of HCQ-related deaths worldwide.

The answer is probably about 17k excess deaths due to use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment for COVID-19.

Politico: Hydroxychloroquine could have caused 17,000 deaths during COVID, study finds

Former US President Donald Trump said: ‘What do you have to lose? Take it.’

The Hill: Nearly 17,000 people may have died from hydroxychloroquine: study

Via, and here, among other places.