Remdesivir is to COVID as AZT is to…

My doctoral thesis defense was November 14, 1991. My thesis was on HIV latency in monocytes and how the early administration of multifunctional multi-targeted therapies would modulate the cytokine storm generated by NF-κB (Nuclear Factor-Kappa B) and keep the virus in latency via DNA methylation (the crucial mechanism for regulating gene expression, cellular function, and other critical physiological processes). These therapies would aid in the prevention of the activation of the immune system and chronic inflammation, a key factor in the development of the disease.

Such therapies could silence expression of the virus and those infected could be expected to live a normal life span as long as they continued such protocols.

In fact, the well-known basketball player, Magic Johnson, had in this same year, tested sero-positive for HIV, meaning he had an antibody to the virus. This was front page news a week before my thesis was released.

Because of his high profile status, coupled with the release of my thesis, the scientific community was forced to consider a different protocol for Magic and his HIV diagnosis.

As we shared in my book Plague, “Our data suggested that the current paradigm of treatment for HIV would have to change. That instead of waiting to treat until the immune system was greatly damaged by HIV, treatment with the antiretroviral therapies should be started as soon as possible. That was a total change and considered a big risk to take the new highly active antiretroviral therapy so soon. Magic was courageous and took that risk and millions of lives were changed for the better.” (Mikovits Heckenlively 2014 copyright ©️ Skyhorse Publishing)

Do we see any other parallels here of the original model of waiting until someone is sick or diseased before providing them any treatment?

The advancements in early multi-targeted therapies help support the immune system and overall health for someone with HIV like Magic. The historical significance of this is that it also gave way for finally having to acknowledge the challenges and controversies surrounding drugs like AZT.

Sadly, between 1986 and 1991, and by the time Magic's story was out and we saw the acceptance of these new therapies, thousands of people had already been victims of the toxicity of AZT, its misuse, and the consequences of this over-prescribed toxic drug that was literally killing people.

The AZT-HIV story runs many parallels to the Remdesivir-COVID story. AZT, unlike the therapies recommended and later adopted in my PhD thesis, is a single agent drug and during the height of its use, was overprescribed as a stand-alone protocol.

Similarly, a blanket protocol for those hospitalized and already sick during COVID was the highly toxic drug Remdesivir, shown to adversely impact kidney function. The drug is primarily metabolized in the liver and then excreted through the kidneys. Studies have reported that Remdesivir can be associated with kidney-related adverse effects, including acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI is a sudden loss of kidney function, and it can be a serious and potentially life-threatening (meaning it can kill you!).

As Mikki Willis shares with us on our last Substack, his brother died of AZT. The same man who convinced us then that AZT was the hopeful drug of choice is the same man who convinced us in 2020 that Remdesivir was also the right choice, the choice for those who could not truly choose, whether it be because they were already on a ventilator at the hospital, medically kidnapped, or their health or welfare plan would require it for them to continue to participate.

What we ‘learned’ in 2020, we already knew in 1991. And even in 1986.