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.
Truly, hydroxychloroquine is the Black Knight of treatments for COVID-19. “America’s Frontline Doctors” demonstrated this for me conclusively.
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.
Recently, Henry Ford Hospital published a study of hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 that showed a benefit. Unfortunately, it was a bias-prone retrospective study. That didn’t stop President Trump from touting the drug again.
Science by press release is never good. The press release claiming that dexamethasone is effective against severe COVID-19 is no exception.
