Summary

The article discusses the spread of misinformation on Facebook regarding the use of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and zithromax as a cure and prophylaxis for COVID-19, promoted by Dr. Stella Immanuel, and the potential harmful consequences of this misinformation.

Abstract

The author expresses concern over the viral spread of a video by Dr. Stella Immanuel advocating for hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and zithromax as treatments for COVID-19, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. Dr. Immanuel's claims, which align with President Trump's earlier endorsement of hydroxychloroquine, have reached over 20 million views on Facebook, leading to widespread sharing and potential self-medication, especially in parts of Africa where hydroxychloroquine is readily available. The author criticizes the lack of scientific data supporting Dr. Immanuel's anecdotal evidence and highlights the serious health risks associated with the drugs, as warned by the FDA. The article calls for accountability and suggests the creation of an international court to address the spread of harmful misinformation, likening its potential impact to that of war crimes.

Opinions

Dr. Stella Immanuel's promotion of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and zithromax for COVID-19 is considered misinformation.
The author is skeptical of Dr. Immanuel's credibility, questioning her medical training and the relevance of her experience with malaria patients to COVID-19 treatment.
The widespread sharing of the video is seen as dangerous, with the potential to lead to harmful self-medication and avoidance of preventive measures like mask-wearing.
The author believes that social media platforms cannot effectively regulate the spread of false information before it causes harm.
The article suggests that individuals who spread false health information should be held accountable, similar to war criminals.
The author emphasizes the particular vulnerability of African populations to the spread of this misinformation due to the accessibility of hydroxychloroquine and existing health challenges.

Hello Facebook…We Have A Problem

Photo credit: Iluha Zavaley for Unsplash

I woke up today to some unsettling news. Trending with over 20 million views on Facebook was a speech by a certain Dr. Stella Immanuel extolling the virtues of hydroxychloroquine in combination with zinc and zithromax, as both a prophylaxis and cure for COVID-19.

You may remember that President Trump had publicly backed hydroxychloroquine as a cure for COVID-19 early on in the epidemic. A few months ago, when a White House aide tested positive for the virus, President Trump confessed that he had taken a bout of hydroxychloroquine as prophylaxis against COVID-19.

A whole foray of evidence-based clinical studies has shown that hydroxychloroquine does not prevent or cure COVID-19. It has little to no anti-viral properties. So why is this topic trending on social media again and why are so many people listening to and sharing such nonsense?

I’m not going to do any publicity for Dr. Immanuel, so don’t count on me to post the link to her speech here. Suffice to say that she claims to have obtained her physician’s training in West Africa.

This raised a first red flag for me. I am from West Africa. It is a vast place composed of a number of nations — 17 to be precise. Why does the doctor not tell us exactly what med school she attended? Why did she omit to share her alma mater? Is it because it is of questionable repute?

In her impassioned speech in support of hydroxychloroquine, she shares that while she worked in Africa, she treated thousands of malaria patients with the drug. The second red flag for me, these were malaria patients — not COVID-19 patients. From what I have read, both diseases are very different from each other.

Now as a physician based in Houston, Texas, Dr. Immanuel boasts that she has treated over 350 patients with a combination of hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and zithromax, and not one of them has died.

She, therefore concludes, that all patients should be treated with this drug cocktail. According to her, there is no need to wear masks either. If people don’t want to catch COVID-19, they should simply ingest these drugs.

Dr. Immanuel provides no scientific data to back her claims. There are no rigorous clinical trial studies, no evidence base. She spews out anecdotal comments and what sounds like a “war cry” to the population to use these therapies. That fact that there is a lack of any rigorous scientific data to support the use of these drugs for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19, is the biggest red flag of all.

In a recent report, the US Food and Drug Administration warned of safety issues with the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19. These included serious heart rhythm problems and other safety issues, including blood and lymph system disorders, kidney injuries, and liver problems and failure.

Now I wouldn’t mind if Dr. Immanuel’s message had tanked and only got a few views. What is worrying to me is that over 20 million people have viewed the video and the number keeps growing. In the meanwhile, Facebook and other channels have removed the video, but suffice to say that the harm is already done.

Millions of copies are already circulating on Whatapps. Just today, I received over 10 Whatapps messages with the same disturbing video clip. My biggest concern is how an insidious message like this can wreak disastrous consequences. Most people will take the message at face value and start self-medicating with hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and zithromax. Will it kill them?

In many parts of Africa where hydroxychloroquine is already used to treat malaria and can be procured without a prescription, the loss of human life could be dire. The continent already faces multiple challenges like poverty, famine, and HIV without adding this other one on top.

From my perspective, Dr. Immanuel and her supporters are the equivalents of war criminals. The false information that they share will cause pain, loss, and suffering to many people around the world. It cannot be that a crime like this goes unpunished.

The argument I keep hearing is that it is up to social media to better regulate content. But how can social media predict when someone is going to post fake content and take it down immediately. That is virtually impossible to do. By the time the fake information is taken down, it has often been shared extensively.

My personal view is that there should be an international court to judge and sentence people who spread false information that can cause great harm to other human beings.

Much like the International Criminal Court in The Hague that brings to justice war criminals, this new body should serve as a deterrent to all those who think they can share nefarious information and get away with it.

I know it will not always be easy to catch these criminals, but in the case of Dr. Immanuel, we do have an undeniable amount of proof — by way of film — showing her making outrageous claims. She should be held accountable for any deaths or suffering that occur as a result.

Thanks for reading me.