Two women have filed a lawsuit alleging their husbands died due to negligence at Inland Empire hospitals after doctors prescribed remdesivir to treat COVID-19 and then failed to tell them about the antiviral drug’s dangerous side effects.

The lawsuits filed last month in state court against Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center and Redlands Community Hospital and several of their doctors allege the doctors committed fraud by prescribing remdesivir to each of the men without their knowledge or consent. The doctors also allegedly failed to explain that the drug was ineffective in treating COVID-19, was toxic to the kidneys and could cause death, the complaints said.

“In COVID-19 medical circles across the country, remdesivir has been nicknamed ‘Run, death is near,'” according to the civil complaint, which seeks unspecified damages. “Remdesivir is not medically necessary to treat COVID-19”.

In November 2020, the World Health Organization issued recommendations against the use of remdesivir regardless of disease severity, saying there was no evidence that the drug improves survival or shortens recovery.

In addition, the National Institutes of Health said that people with impaired or impaired kidneys may experience liver or kidney toxicity due to the release of beta-cyclodextrin sodium sulfabutyl ester, which is contained in remdesivir.

Gilead Sciences, which makes remdesivir under the brand name Veklury, said it welcomed the WHO oversight and said the drug is effective treatment for COVID-19.

“Veklury plays an important role in the pandemic, helping to prevent disease progression and allowing patients to recover faster,” the company said in a statement. “Veklury is recommended worldwide in both from mild to moderate and severe COVID-19 disease according to several key guidelines in more than 40 countries.”

In one of the lawsuits, Christina Briones alleges that her 50-year-old husband, Rodney Briones, had a low chance of dying from COVID-19 when he developed symptoms of the virus on Aug. 1, 2021. However, as his symptoms worsened on Aug. 10 he sought care from Kaiser Permanente as a regular patient, the complaint said.

There the doctor gave him ineffective medicine and sent him home. The lawsuit alleges that the doctor allegedly failed to prescribe safe comprehensive therapy for Brion or refer him to a specialist.

“If a Kaiser Riverside physician had provided Rodney with safe early multidrug treatment, referred him to a specialist in safe early multidrug treatment, or disclosed to Rodney the availability of safe early multidrug treatment, he would have recovered from COVID-19,” the lawsuit states.

Brion continued to deteriorate, and on Aug. 12 he returned by ambulance to Kaiser, where he was admitted and prescribed a five-day course of remdesivir, the lawsuit states.

A few days later, his kidneys began to fail and he was put on a ventilator. He died on September 12.

“Rodney’s administration of remdesivir 12 days after showing symptoms of COVID-19 was medical malpractice,” the lawsuit states. “The drug does not help patients with COVID-19 survive or shorten the recovery time of those patients who do; but it causes serious side effects and death.’

Kaiser Permanente expressed its condolences to the Briones family, but declined to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit.

“While we cannot comment on personal health information or the specific circumstances of this case, our physicians and dedicated healthcare professionals are committed to providing our patients with the highest quality care in a safe and fair manner and in accordance with all federal and state guidelines. “, the company said in a statement.

“Therapies for COVID-19 continue to evolve rapidly, and we prescribe treatments that are designed to provide the best clinical outcomes based on current knowledge and their individual needs.”

In a second lawsuit, Evangeline Ortega alleges that her healthy 65-year-old husband, Armando Ortega, was given remdesivir at Redlands Hospital without explaining that the drug was unsafe and medically unnecessary to treat COVID-19.