I can’t even… Where did society go so wrong that science and rational thought is thrown out the window and feelings became fact? My neck is sore from all the shameful head-shaking and I’m pretty sure my eyes are stuck in a constant eye roll. Having said that…let’s discuss demon semen and alien DNA in this post… Confused… yea… so am I.

I have to speak out once again about a viral video circulating the internet causing a flurry of misinformation and conspiracy theories. Some of you may or may not have seen it, but there is a video of a “White Coat Summit” in D.C. which was filmed by Breitbart News (far right-wing media outlet) on 7/27/20. It is a group of “doctors” who are part of what they call themselves as Frontline Doctors of America, claiming they are being silenced for speaking the truth (loose definition of truth which we will get to later). The press conference was funded by a right wing, republican organization known as the Tea Party Patriots; so clearly no agenda was present at all (note my sarcasm). I wanted to write about the big themes running throughout the video, some I do agree with, a majority I don’t, and why that is based on science and critical thinking/rational thought. It has been pulled from Facebook, Twitter, and I believe YouTube at this point. While I think it is dangerous to expose this mess of misinformation to the general public, censorship just further supports the conspiracy theory that “they” are out to get these doctors for “speaking the truth.” Let the video fly and allow us, who respect science and the principles of medicine, to debunk the videos and educate the public. A better solution would certainly be to put a fact checking link instead, so that people can review the information themselves and better educate their opinions on the matter.

First of all, I agree that the media has created a frenzy of fear and likely made the worry and anxiety about COVID-19 significantly worse. There is no argument there, no matter the media outlet. With fear comes irrational behavior and even violence. We have seen this in stores when the pandemic first began. Shootings and brawls at grocery stores for food and toilet paper were sadly commonplace in the news. In the same regard, some people have been referring to medical experts, including Dr. Fauci, as alarmists. Rational, objective statements may seem alarmist but as medical providers and scientists, we have to be forthcoming with expert concerns. When I get a CAT scan of the lungs and see something concerning, I am not an alarmist when I tell my patient I am concerned that from it’s appearance, it looks like possible lung cancer but in order to figure this out, further testing would be necessary. When Dr. Fauci says that this virus will be with us for a long time and the worst is yet to come, he is not being an alarmist, he is applying science and experience to explain that this is likely going to be a problem that we have to live with for a while at the current rate of spread. The concerns of these doctors regarding the fear mongering of media is certainly valid. I can ride that train for sure.

They also explain the socioeconomic consequences of lockdowns and keeping schools closed. I also agree that lockdowns can have boundless consequences on mental health and physical well being, especially those at high risk. Do I think states should open up willy nilly because of this, absolutely not. It should be done in a systematic way with appropriate metrics and criteria to gate and open further. States who have appropriately opened in phases, have been found to have low incidence of cases and low daily death rates. The opposite is true for those states who rushed their openings and are now breaking global COVID-19 cases (Texas, Arizona, Florida, etc). As for school openings, I discussed this in my last post. The effects of keeping children out of school is obviously harmful in all aspects however we cannot rush them back in and need to consider appropriate planning in context of community transmission rates and case positivity. Once again, I agree with these statements but to a certain extent with measure and rational context.

So now that I covered what I agree with, let’s talk about the proverbial train wreck that was the rest of the “press conference.” This was clearly a politicized, agenda-based media optic used to support the republican/right wing agenda. First of all, it is clear these doctors don’t respect the science which exists as they are not wearing masks. If I have to explain why this is wrong, go back and read ALL my posts about wearing masks and how/why they work. They were stating that there is no need to wear a mask because they have a cure for COVID-19. This is blatant ignorance to science and our current understanding of how the virus is transmitted further causing divisiveness in wearing masks. Strike one.

Strike two and three come in the form of one MAJOR statement from a quack. A physician trained in Nigeria who practices in Texas gets up to the podium and gives an emphatic speech about how she has cured over 350, high risk patients using hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and azithromycin. She yells and gets passionate about this and makes it seem believable. She accuses those of us medical providers for being stupid or something mentally wrong with us for reading the current literature advising against its use prophylactically and in the treatment of the disease. After minutes of telling stories without actual data or evidence to support her claims, the real fun begins… She begins to cite a study in virology from 2005 supporting her use of hydroxychloroquine. Shockingly (not so much), it doesn’t. The study states that theoretically in primate cell models, it appears chloroquine shows potential for treatment in SARS-CoV infections. She is cherry picking completely irrelevant and false information. First of all, this study is an in vitro study (test tube) not in vivo (in a living organism). There are so many things wrong with this. Many drugs theoretically work in test tubes but never make it past pre-clinical trials because the doses needed to achieve the theoretical effect are risky or don’t manifest in other model organisms. In other words, just because you know water puts out a brush fire does not mean it will put out a grease fire. The theoretical/test tube results don’t translate to real living organisms with complex systems and intertwined biochemical reactions. Secondly, the study was performed in 2005 on SARS-CoV not SARS-CoV-2 which is a different virus. During her speech, she claims that they are 70% similar. That is NOT identical and this is a novel virus which behaves differently than SARS-CoV. Humans share 60% of our genes with chickens. Does this mean we are similar and should be treated similarly? Absolutely not (well maybe some people may think so). Genetically these viruses differ, as do many other of their traits. So the fact that she states these viruses are similar and uses unrelated data which is in vitro and not in vivo, already puts her scientific credibility in the trash.

She then goes on to cite another case study which is hard to follow from her statements. She reports that a patient had hiccups which is a symptom of COVID-19 and after being given hydroxychloroquine, the hiccups disappeared, proving that he was cured with the drug. Wow…. If you could see the facepalm of all facepalms…. It’s shocking that a physician can so horribly interpret data or even more worrisome, dissect a study which does not even make any of her claims scientifically for her own argument’s sake. The case study is about a 62 year old male, who presented to the emergency department with months of unintentional weight loss and persistent hiccups for four days and fever. He was treated with supportive therapies such as fluids and antibiotics for possible pneumonia on imaging as well as given hydoxychloroquine. To make an important note, this was published in April when our understanding of hydroxychloroquine and its use in COVID-19 was uncertain and may have been thought to be effective (but was still being investigated). The patient’s hiccups resolved and he was discharged after three days. Despite being high risk, his presentation was fairly benign. The purpose of the case study was not correlating hydroxychloroquine use and symptom resolution but raising the possibility of COVID-19 atypically causing persistent hiccups and to be included as a potential sign/symptom for providers to recognize when evaluating a patient. She blatantly took a study out of context, ignored the science, and made a false statement in doing so. Multiple studies to this day show that hydroxychloroquine has no benefit when used in the treatment of COVID-19 or prophylaxis before or after exposure. Yes, NEJM and Lancet retracted papers regarding hydroxychloroquine, however this was only because data was not obvious and could not be sourced appropriately. They were looking at safety, not efficacy. While anecdotal reports of providers prescribing it to high risk individuals without side effects or deaths exist, large scale, fairly well-designed studies have shown otherwise (see link above).

Let’s talk about Dr. Immanuel’s background before we dive into her miraculous 350 patients who were cured of COVID-19 (again sarcasm). It’s important to assess her beliefs as a medical provider who should subscribe to science as a means of practicing medicine. She is known for posting videos claiming that molar pregnancies, endometriosis, and other gynecological/obstetric conditions are caused by having sex with demons in your dreams. Okkkkkaaaayyyy…… Also, she believes alien DNA is being used in pharmaceuticals, vaccines are being administered to abolish religion, and the world’s elite is being run by lizard people (this last one may be true lately, hahah). YES, A DOCTOR BELIEVES THIS! I would never judge anyone for their religious/spiritual beliefs however when it intersects with medical management of human lives, it is based on delusional conspiracy theories, and it is a potential harm to a patient, this causes me grave concern. She is a licensed and board certified pediatrician and works at a walk-in clinic in Texas located in a strip mall. She states that she has treated 350 patients who were high risk and all cured using hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, and zinc. First of all, that is a tiny sample of patients. The statistical odds of 350 people out of 4.38 million not dying from COVID or not becoming severely ill with it is very likely, especially when not compared to a control group. Also, she works at a walk-in clinic. Did she record and track every patient to follow up and see how they did after? Unlikely as most urgent cares don’t do this. How did she know if a patient went to a local hospital and was admitted to the ICU with severe disease after this treatment or if the patient died from COVID after the treatment regimen. Also, it is likely that the patients were not gravely ill to begin with as they went to a walk-in clinic versus a hospital. Another claim is regarding employee prophylaxis that her staff and colleagues all are taking the regimen and never got COVID-19. A small staff of 10-12 people is not an adequate sample. In addition to this, in a video on her clinic website, she discusses that their clinic uses appropriate hand sanitization, distancing, and mask use (despite her claim that masks are useless and there’s no need for them). Boston hospitals are being used for models for low hospital employee transmission rates because of appropriate PPE use and infection control measures; not because of hydoxychloroquine prophylaxis therefore it is likely that her clinic’s safety measures prevented staff transmission, not the regimen. Many large scale studies show that prophylaxis with this drug regimen does not work. She makes a claim that she sees people in her clinic waiting room knowing it is a death sentence. Talk about sensationalism... She treated mild symptoms in an outpatient clinic, not inpatient, severely ill patients. What really ticks me off, is her claim that those of us providers following scientific literature are having a “chip malfunction” and are “good Germans” (referencing Nazi soldiers helping Jews during World War II). Forgive my language, but this really pisses me off. As a provider, our current literature shows no benefit in using this drug regimen. As a licensed medical provider, I constantly weigh the risk versus benefit of every action I take with patients. This drug has no benefit in preventing or treating this disease and is being used with an antibiotic that will not only cause possible arrhythmia when combined with it, but will also propagate further antibiotic resistance (a growing problem in the U.S.). Azithromycin or its well marketed version, Z-pack, is likely responsible for over prescribed antibiotics in our country leading to resistance and superbugs (heavily resistant bacteria). If I told you I had a pill for your blood pressure that currently has no evidence or science to help you and could maybe harm you or at the least cause side effects, would you take it? Of course you wouldn’t. This is the same with hydroxychloroquine. Now don’t get me wrong, more rigorous testing and clinical trials are being conducted worldwide with hydroxychloroquine as we speak and we could find out that it may have some effect but currently, we have evidence suggesting otherwise. Most major international medical organizations are recommending against its use because of the current science. I stand with my science-backed colleagues in defense of their hesitation to prescribe this drug as all signs point to ineffective. We have science-supported measures of distancing, hygiene, contact tracing, and masks to prevent spread. Dexamethasone and Remdesivir have been studied and have actual efficacy in reducing morbidity and mortality in sick patients (can reduce the risk of death by up to a third per studies!).

Videos like these are toxic. And when you have an uneducated president and his horribly misinformed son with millions of twitter followers praising this lunatic for her scientifically false claims which are highly improbable, it creates false narratives, furthers insane conspiracy theories, and endangers the lives of those at risk. Poison control calls increased after Trump promoted hydroxychloroquine, this will likely be no different. Patients who require this medication for inflammatory diseases will once again struggle to fill their prescriptions. Also, by promoting this garbage, they endorse the “they” conspiracy and create divide between my medical colleagues and our patients who we are purely trying to do our best for in order to treat this horrible disease and prevent its spread. All I ask is that you educate yourself, read the studies I have linked in my post here, and don’t always believe what you hear, despite if it fits within your political view. Sadly this pandemic has been politicized beyond belief which has caused its devastation across our country. I know many of you will say, “follow the money” and you’ll know the truth. The same goes for that video and its right-wing agenda. Yes, pharmaceuticals are multi-billion dollar companies who profit off the illness of others and lobby for many cruddy things in our government. Sure, some studies are influenced by their financial power and funding to promote their fiscal interests, however international studies show hydroxychloroquine is not effective. The reason why New Zealand has virtually eliminated the virus is because of appropriate mitigation, contact tracing, and widely available testing; not because of some miracle drug. We could do the same here but because of the current political climate and horrible federal leadership, the country is somehow ignoring science doing what they want because “it’s their right.”

In the end, we are all affected by this virus and the only way to beat it is to reignite the theory of the “common good” in America. Wear the mask, wash your hands, distance, and follow the guidelines. I pray that I don’t have to debunk any more insane videos…but I doubt it.

Stay safe and be well!