..

..

..

..

..

August 3, 2022 2:14 PM

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has declared that an anti-hopping enactment passed by the Penang legislative assembly in 2012 is constitutional.

..

Ho Kit Yen and Predeep Nambiar

– December 16, 2022 12:58 PM

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has rejected a bid by four Penang Bersatu assemblymen to commence a constitutional challenge on the state’s anti-hopping enactment.

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed the leave application after hearing submissions from lawyers DP Naban, representing the four assemblymen, and Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who appeared for the state government.

The court made no order on costs.

Tengku Maimun said the Federal Court had in August decided that the state assembly was entitled to enact laws to determine the qualification of its members.

In that decision, the apex court upheld the validity of Article 14A of the Penang constitution, which it said was consistent with Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution.

It also said the Federal Constitution did not guarantee elected assemblymen any fundamental right to switch allegiances from one political party to another.

The four Bersatu assemblymen – Zulkifli Ibrahim (Sungai Acheh), Dr Afif Bahardin (Seberang Jaya), Khaliq Mehtab Mohd Ishaq (Bertam) and Zolkifly Lazim (Telok Bahang) – had previously filed a suit to challenge a motion introduced by the state assembly’s speaker during its meeting in October 2020, seeking to vacate their seats so that by-elections could be held.

They alleged that Penang’s 2012 anti-hopping law was wrongfully used against them.

They also denied that they had defected or changed their party allegiance.

Zulkifli and Afif were sacked from PKR in 2020 and later joined Bersatu, while Khaliq and Zolkifly are members of Bersatu.

The High Court then referred the case to the Federal Court to determine constitutional questions relating to Penang’s anti-hopping enactment.

One month after the Federal Court ruling in August, the four filed a fresh bid to challenge the enactment, claiming that the state assembly was not competent to pass the law.

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/12/16/4-bersatu-reps-fail-in-bid-to-challenge-penang-anti-hopping-law/

..

..

..

Effect of Ivermectin 600 mcg/kg for 6 days vs Placebo on Time to Sustained Recovery in Outpatients with Mild to Moderate COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Susanna Naggie, David R Boulware, Christopher J Lindsell, Thomas G Stewart, Stephen C Lim, Jonathan Cohen, David Kavtaradze, Arch P Amon, Ahab Gabriel, Nina Gentile, G. Michael Felker, Russell L Rothman, Dushyantha Jayaweera, Matthew W McCarthy, Mark Sulkowski, Sybil Wilson, Allison DeLong, April Remaly, Rhonda Wilder, Sean Collins, Sarah E Dunsmore, Stacey J Adam, Florence Thicklin, George Hanna, Adit A Ginde, Mario Castro, Kathleen McTigue, Elizabeth Shenkman, Adrian F Hernandez

doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.12.15.22283488

This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [what does this mean?]. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.

Abstract

Background: Whether ivermectin, with a maximum targeted dose of 600 mcg/kg, shortens symptom duration or prevents hospitalization among outpatients with mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains unknown. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of ivermectin, dosed at 600 mcg/kg, daily for 6 days compared with placebo for the treatment of early mild to moderate COVID-19. Methods: ACTIV-6, an ongoing, decentralized, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, platform trial, was designed to evaluate repurposed therapies in outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19. A total of 1206 participants age >=30 years with confirmed COVID-19, experiencing >=2 symptoms of acute infection for <=7 days, were enrolled from February 16, 2022, through July 22, 2022, with follow-up data through November 10, 2022, at 93 sites in the US. Participants were randomized to ivermectin, with a maximum targeted dose of 600 mcg/kg (n=602), daily vs. placebo daily (n=604) for 6 days. The primary outcome was time to sustained recovery, defined as at least 3 consecutive days without symptoms. The 7 secondary outcomes included a composite of hospitalization, death, or urgent/emergent care utilization by day 28. Results: Among 1206 randomized participants who received study medication or placebo, median (interquartile range) age was 48 (38-58) years; 713 (59%) were women; and 1008 (84%) reported 2 or more SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses. Median time to recovery was 11 (11-12) days in the ivermectin group and 11 (11-12) days in the placebo group. The hazard ratio (HR) (95% credible interval [CrI], posterior probability of benefit) for improvement in time to recovery was 1.02 (0.92-1.13; P[HR>1]=0.68). In those receiving ivermectin, 34 (5.7%) were hospitalized, died, or had urgent or emergency care visits compared with 36 (6.0%) receiving placebo (HR 1.0, 0.6-1.5; P[HR<1]=0.53). In the ivermectin group, 1 participant died and 4 were hospitalized (0.8%); 2 participants (0.3%) were hospitalized in the placebo group and there were no deaths. Adverse events were uncommon in both groups. Conclusions: Among outpatients with mild to moderate COVID-19, treatment with ivermectin, with a maximum targeted dose of 600 mcg/kg daily for 6 days, compared with placebo did not improve time to recovery. These findings do not support the use of ivermectin in patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04885530.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.15.22283488v1

..

..

..

..