Over 65 doctors, medical professionals and scientists joined New Jersey State Senator Joe Pennacchio in calling for local governments and the federal government to implement the use of Hydroxychloroquine to fight the coronavirus, COVID-19. Pennachio wrote over the weekend, “Federal and State agencies should prepare themselves for real time evaluation of HCQ and have in place a protocol for its manufacturing and distribution.”

The medical professionals responded after a French peer reviewed-study by infectious disease specialist Dr. Didier Raoult was published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents that showed 40 patients suffering from COVID-19 who had positive results after using Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ).

Gregory Rigano, an attorney, appeared on Fox News last week, where he claimed of Raoult’s study:

And I’m here to report that as of this morning, about 5:00 this morning, a well-controlled peer-reviewed study carried out by the most eminent infectious disease specialist in the world—Didier Raoult, MD, PhD—out of the south of France, in which he enrolled 40 patients, again, a well-controlled peer review study, that showed a 100 percent cure rate against coronavirus.

The medical professionals noted, “The French study also showed a significant decrease in ‘viral shedding,’ from patients treated with HCQ. The lower the shedding, the less likelihood that the virus can be communicated to other individuals.”

The medical professionals referred to a recent medical paper written by Dr. Raymond Chang of the Institute of East-West Medicine in New York and the National Taiwan University Hospital in Taiwan which concluded that Hydroxychloroquine was the best available treatment for COVID-19. Chang wrote: “Here we propose an old drug chloroquine (CQ) to be urgently repositioned as an ideal antiviral prophylactic against COVID-19. CQ has ability to block viral attachment and entry to host cells. Its proven clinical efficacy against a variety of viruses including COVID-19 and its current deployment in COVID-19 therapeutic trials strengthens its potential candidacy as a prophylactic. Furthermore, CQ has a long safety record, is inexpensive and widely available.”

The medical professionals continued, “HCQ has the ability to prevent the virus from entering the cell, as well as to prevent the virus from replicating. HCQ has the unique factor of being able to accumulate high concentrations in the lungs (specifically where it is needed). What is also appealing is the long duration (22-day half-life) of HCQ in the body. These factors make it promising for early treatment if ingested days before the virus is introduced.

More: “A nationwide program of early treatment with HCQ, along with concurrent isolation may reap exponential benefits. The existing record of HCQ, its promise of efficacy in the treatment of COVID-19 and low costs make the risk to benefit ratio well worth the effort.”

Then the medical professionals urged governments to expedite the process of delivering the drug: