Hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug used to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis for decades, is not a cure for COVID-19. A series of studies, some less than a week old and published in the prestigious clinical journal Nature, have shown that the drug does not have a really extensive antiviral activity. And as more and more knowledge is gained from human clinical trials, hydroxychloroquine is still lacking. Very short. It does not oppose COVID-19 or cure it.
There is no rigorous clinical evidence that hydroxychloroquine prevents, treats or cures COVID-19.
So why does this appear in the news?
It turns out to be a trend in a giant component because a series of viral videos posted through the right-wing Breitbart post are widely shared on social media, especially on Facebook and Twitter.
On Monday, a contingent of doctors, dressed in white robes and call me -ranked “top American doctors,” held a summit on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington. The summit is hosted through the right-wing Tea Party Patriots Foundation and is expected to last two days.
Videos of “primary care physicians” advocating for the use of hydroxychloroquine as a “cure” before the Supreme Court began appearing online Monday afternoon. We shouldn’t link to them, but research through an NBC Internet reporter indicates that they have gained more than 20 million perspectives on Facebook.
One in particular, that of Houston doctor and preacher Stella Immanuel, attracted the majority, generating a passionate discussion about her use of hydroxychloroquine in 350 patients who visited her clinic. It has been seen millions of times on Facebook and even tweeted through Donald Trump Jr. U.S. President Donald Trump retwed the video.
As a result, Emmanuel’s private fans on Twitter increased through another 30,000 people in the area for a few hours. Twitter has begun deleting videos related to the summit, adding those of Emmanuel, and Facebook has also systematically removed the video from its platform. It is one of the toughest messages on the platform at the time of its removal, according to Facebook’s Insight Tool CrowdTangle tool.
The emphasis has been on Emmanuel’s speech, but he basically uses non-scientific language to claim that hydroxychloroquine can cure COVID-19, according to Andrew McLachlan, director of the Sydney School of Pharmacy at the University of Sydney.
“Passion and anecdote do not provide convincing evidence of the protection and efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in the remedy and prevention of COVID-19,” he says.
“Good evidence for consultant practice comes from thoroughly controlled studies, careful review of the effects, and a peer review that the findings and statements are sound and correct.”
McLachlan also notes that hydroxychloroquine is the maximum drug studied for COVID-19, discovered in the number of active trials. He says the recovery trial, led by Oxford University, is one of the most rigorous. It did not discover a significant difference in mortality and showed no advantages for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. However, it continues to be defended as a viable remedy option through various sections of the media, and Breitbart added.
Scientists say the arguments have been tarnished due to rampant politicization.
“It’s amazing to see that [the] hydroxychloroquine program is being pushed despite overwhelming evidence opposing it,” says Gaetan Burgio, geneticist at the Australian National University in Canberra. “It reminds me a lot of the vaccine-fighting movement.”
In June, the Food and Drug Administration canceled the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine for patients with COVID-19, based on the growing evidence, does not provide clinical advantages and, in some cases, can cause problems at the center. A high-profile study also published in The Lancet in May, suggesting that hydroxychloroquine led to higher mortality. He even convinced WHO to stop its hydroxychloroquine trials. However, the study became embroiled in controversy after discovering that much of the knowledge used in the study was false. Then he retracted.
In addition, the arguments opposing the use of hydroxychloroquine date back to the beginning of the pandemic. The concept that it may be a useful drug to save it or treat COVID-19 has been proven in more difficult and larger clinical trials.
In short, there is overwhelming evidence that hydroxychloroquine works. Going viral on the Internet doesn’t replace that.
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