In early March, I was forced by circumstance to treat my patients with Covid-19 in the out-patient setting. With divine providence, research and a battlefield medicine approach of trial and error, I developed a highly-effective out-patient treatment now referred to as “The Zelenko Protocol.” There are three key components to this protocol:
First, risk stratify patients. That is, identify high-risk patients who have a 5%-10% chance of dying from Covid-19. Second, start treatment within the first five days of the onset of symptoms based on clinical suspicion. Yes, perform PCR testing, but don’t withhold treatment pending results. Third, use a three-drug regimen of Zinc, Hydroxychlorochine (HCQ) and Azithromycin. This out-patient, pre-hospital treatment protocol shows an 84% reduction in hospitalization and death if properly followed.[2]
The rationale for risk stratification is because the Covid-19 virus disproportionately harms and kills patients older than 60, and younger patients who have comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease, etc.
The rationale for immediate treatment is because the viral load in a patient remains relatively constant during the first few days of the infection. This is when a patient has mild-flu like symptoms.
After five days of having symptoms, however, the Covid-19 virus begins to replicate at an exponential rate. Based on my team’s and my treatment of thousands of patients, it is clear that after five days of symptoms most high-risk patients begin to develop devastating complications such as catastrophic lung injury and blood clots. Therefore, high-risk patients must be treated immediately based on clinical suspicion of Covid-19. Waiting to go to the doctor, or waiting for the results of confirmatory testing before starting treatment, is the very essence of the problem and leads to many unnecessary hospital admissions and deaths.
Therefore, all the studies related to the efficacy of HCQ that were performed on hospitalized and critically-ill patients either missed the boat or were designed to fail.
The rationale for the three-drug regimen turns out to be elegant and simple. Covid-19 is an RNA virus that enters the cell and hijacks the cell’s resources to replicate itself. Zinc blocks RNA viral replication by inhibiting the function of RNA Dependent RNA Polymerase (RDRP).[3] However, Zinc is a positive cation in solution, it therefore has difficulty crossing through the cell membrane's phospholipid bilayer to get into the cytoplasm and to inhibit the virus’ replication.
HCQ is a Zinc ionophore, which opens a channel in the cell membrane’s phospholipid bilayer and transports the Zinc into the cell’s cytoplasm[4] where it is able to attack the virus. In other words, both Zinc and HCQ are required in order to kill the virus.
Therefore, all the studies that were performed with HCQ but without Zinc either missed the boat or failed.
Azithromycin is a well known and safe antibiotic and most likely prevents the patient from developing secondary opportunistic pneumonia. It has recently been reported that Azithromycin may have antiviral properties as well.[5]
The three drug regimen included in “The Zelenko Protocol” may be administered orally, at home, and costs approximately $20 for the entire treatment. Since April, I have continued to adjust certain aspects of this treatment protocol based on real-world results because I believe that the sanctity of life and the art of medicine requires constant tailoring to find the right treatment for each individual. Please see the comprehensive guide to “The Zelenko Protocol.”[6]
The negative propaganda regarding HCQ and “The Zelenko Protocol” and the fraudulent or poorly designed studies released since this pandemic began have resulted in thousands of unnecessary global deaths from Covid-19. As of 7:50 PM EST on October 15, 2020 there are 1,094,979 recorded deaths from Covid-19.[7] I believe that a vast majority of these could have been easily avoided with timely treatment with this three-drug regimen.
The false narrative regarding HCQ has nefariously demonized this life-saving medication. The false safety concerns regarding HCQ have created global panic among patients, physicians, and governments. The truth is that HCQ is one of the safest medications in the world. It has been used by millions of patients for 65 years in the treatment of malaria, malaria prophylaxis, and several rheumatological diseases. It is also given to pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children.
According to Dr. Harvey Risch M.D. PHD, from the Yale School of Medicine, studies from around the world overwhelmingly and statistically prove that early treatment of high-risk patients with HCQ and Zinc works.[8] However, the studies that are used to demonize HCQ, The Zelenko Protocol and other treatment regimens, are seriously flawed. For example: the Lancet study was retracted for fraud.[9] The Recovery Trial sponsored by Oxford used lethal doses of HCQ.[10] The Veterans Administration study from Virginia used only critically ill and hospitalized patients on respirators.[11] This is just to mention a few.
My interest is to save lives and end the pandemic, right now. This may easily be accomplished if governments act in the best interests of their people. This means encouraging doctors and patients to treat Covid-19 immediately, making the medications readily available, and removing any governmental obstacles to the use of these medications.
The forces that oppose HCQ and “The Zelenko Protocol” are powerful and numerous and many have their own agendas: some politicians seeking power for their party if the economy continues into a tailspin; big-pharma executives seeking profit from their expensive medications and vaccines; the WHO pushing its agenda in line with the interests of its funding sources; anarchists seeking anarchy; just to mention a few.
Truth will stand the test of time. In the meanwhile, perhaps if the politicians, big-pharma executives and everyone else were to remember that each of us, including the old and those with comorbidities, are made in the image of G-d and that life has sanctity, then perhaps thousands more won’t needlessly have to die while the truth struggles to set itself free.
[1] https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/countries-where-coronavirus-has-spread/
[2] https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202007.0025/v1
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2973827/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4182877/
[5] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109815
[6]https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TaRDwXMhQHSMsgrs9TFBclHjPHerXMuB87DUXmcAvwg/edit?usp=sharing
[7] Source: WHO, CDC, ECDC, NHC
[8] https://academic.oup.com/aje/advance-article/doi/10.1093/aje/kwaa093/5847586
[9] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31324-6/fulltext
[10] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7417172/
[11] https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.16.20065920v2
[12] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm
[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7410011/
[14] https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30397-7/fulltext