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On March 21, epidemiologist Haleema Shakur-Still got a WhatsApp message from Temitayo Shokunbi, a colleague at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. He asked about starting a trial for treating COVID-19 patients with the drug hydroxychloroquine. At the time, several trials were already in the works to investigate the effectiveness of the antimalarial to counter SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, so Shakur-Still didn’t think starting another one on the antimalarial would add much new information. She offered Shokunbi an alternative: test aspirin, statins, and anti-hypertensive drugs instead. These medications, Shakur-Still reasoned, could counter the intense inflammation and other tissue damage associated with COVID-19.
A growing amount of data shows that intense inflammation, blood clots, and stroke are some of the most severe symptoms of COVID-19. Decades of research have also shown that aside from lowering cholesterol, statins decrease inflammation, reduce blood clots, and prevent damage ...
