NC Treasurer Folwell Credits Drug Combo for Helping Him Beat COVID-19

RALEIGH – Hydroxychloroquine may have saved N.C. State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s life in his fight against the coronavirus. That, and the power of prayer, says the Republican reformer, who spent five days in the hospital with COVID-19.

You have likely heard of hydroxychloroquine amid the coverage on the COVID-19 epidemic. It, combined with another drug, has been touted by doctors, and even the president, as showing anecdotal evidence of success in drastically improving the fortunes of many COVID-19 patients. It has not been approved by the FDA, but has been informally acknowledged as a viable treatment option by the medical community.

Folwell, in an interview with Fox Business, said his oxygen levels were dangerously low before starting the combination drug treatment.

From Fox News:

“[…] “I’m not the expert on that to know how it impacted me, but from that point forward the goal was to get me off oxygen,” Folwell, 61, told FOX Business.

Folwell was diagnosed with the virus in late March and admitted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 29. Three other employees in the treasurer’s office have tested positive for the virus, The Raleigh News & Observer reported.

Folwell’s goal is a full recovery as he continues to manage the state’s multibillion-dollar pension and health plans.

“We all take breathing for granted,” Folwell said. “There’s a war going on in everyone who’s tested positive, inside their chest, with the virus and their immune system.” […]”

Folwell never went on a ventilator, but his oxygen was so low they decided to administer the quasi-accepted treatment. Within 24 to 48 hours Follwell was on the mend.

You can read more about the promising treatment, of which North Carolina has received about one million doses, here.