When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world in 2020, many people who were skeptical of the advice of public health agencies and medical authorities took unapproved medications. The research on which some of those decisions were made has been revealed as fabricated by the medical journal that first published the information.
In 2020, a paper was published in The International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents—a reputable scientific journal—that concluded the medications hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin could prevent or treat COVID-19 infections.
These medications, however, have never been approved for the treatment of viral diseases like COVID-19.
Hydroxychloroquine, which is sold under the trade name Plaquenil, is used to treat malaria, a disease caused by a protozoan, not a virus or bacteria. Azithromycin, known by the trade name Zithromax and sold in what is popularly call a Z-pack, is an antibiotic for treatment of bacterial infections.
It was a small study conducted in France with just 36 patients, but it had an impact far greater than might have been expected.
Suddenly, doctors were asked to prescribe a drug they had never used before, for a condition they knew little about.
Infectious disease experts uniformly advised against the treatment, noting that hydroxychoroquine is used in cancer treatment to starve cancer cells, and in rheumatoid arthritis and lupus to suppress the immune system. What it would do to healthy people who wanted to guard against getting COVID-19 was not known.
Alternative medicine websites, internet chat rooms, and radio talk show hosts recommended the study medications, and some added additional medications, biological products, and supplements. These included ivermectin, a medication for treating parasites and head lice; oleandrin, the toxic chemical in oleander leaves; and colloidal silver.
The Center for Disease Control and state health departments warned against these treatments and advised social distancing, wearing masks in public, avoiding large gatherings, getting tested for COVID-19, and staying home if feeling ill.
Some politicians advised people to ignore public health officials and go about their lives as if there were no pandemic. Some celebrities announced that they were taking these unproven medications and advised others to do so as well.
Then, a vaccine was developed, and in record time. Vaccine opponents said the vaccine was untested and could be dangerous. It was accused of making people magnetic, and of containing nanochips to control the population. Even though the vaccine was free, only 70 percent of adults got fully vaccinated.
Public health officials were vilified. Social media, internet websites and talk radio hosts claimed more credibility than scientists and doctors.
The result of skepticism and misplaced trust was 100 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 1,218,000 deaths in the United States.
Now, the research supporting the use of hydroxychloroquine has been revealed as fraudulent.
The International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents which published the original article on hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin, announced in its January 2025 edition that the paper was being retracted and the reported finding renounced.
The journal’s investigation showed that the authors of the study had intentionally falsified the data to show the results they wanted to see, and excluded patients from the analysis if they did not respond to the treatment.
This means that millions of people suffered and died because they relied on false information.
Who is to blame for this tragedy?
We cannot blame radio talk show hosts. They are not doctors or scientists and merely expressed their opinions.
We cannot blame the CDC or the National Institutes of Health or state health departments. They did all they could to inform the public of the truth.
The blame for intentionally deceiving the journal and the public rests with the authors of the study that purported to show that hydroxychloroquine treated COVID-19. They have been seriously punished and their careers will suffer.
The people who suffered the most, however, are those who made healthcare decisions based on false information. They dismissed the warnings from the CDC. Instead, they heeded the advice of the talk show hosts and uninformed politicians. They paid for it with their health and in too many cases, with their lives.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way many people make healthcare decisions. Previously, political leaders made decisions based on the research of scientists, public health officials, and physicians working in universities, government agencies, and research institutes. They, in turn, relied on scientific research. Doctors applied the information to the care of their patients.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the advice of public health experts, infectious disease specialists and virologists was ignored. Opinions were taken as facts, and wishful thinking replaced realistic thinking.
This situation is timely again. There are two new virus appearing, commonly called “bird flu” or “avian influenza,” and designated H5N1 and H7N9. Some infectious disease experts believe that these viruses will begin to mutate, as COVID-19 did. These mutations could prove even more infectious and more deadly.
As with other viral illnesses, older adults and those with suppressed immune systems are at greater risk.
When the next epidemic sweeps across the country, we will surely hear self-appointed experts giving medical advice. Sorting through the misinformation and loud voices will not be easy. Your health, and perhaps your life, will depend on the decisions you make.