A week and a half ago, a “study” published on “HCQ Trial” by an anonymous source claiming to be a group of PhD scientists went viral. It claimed that countries that used hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 had a 79% lower fatality rate than those who didn’t. It was horrible science and quickly debunked on Twitter by several epidemiologists. That didn’t stop it from going viral. Disinformation like this during a pandemic is one of the most dangerous challenges we face.
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A new study of #Hydroxychloroquine and #Chloroquine to treat #COVID19 was published this morning in The Lancet. The results? More deaths and arrhythmias in treated patients. [NOTE ADDENDUM: This study has been retracted. Here’s a link to my followup post.]
Yale epidemiology professor Harvey Risch published an embarrassingly bad op-ed in Newsweek defending hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. It reminded me how much acupuncture and hydroxychloroquine believers have in common.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic reached the US, increasing concern has been expressed about the politicization of the CDC and FDA due to pressure from the Trump administration to downplay the severity of the pandemic and push out treatments and a vaccine as fast as possible, potentially at the expense of safety. This has led me to a disturbing question: Can I trust the CDC and FDA any more?
Yesterday, the FDA issued emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroqine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19. Politics, not science, is why.