Topic: WorldNetDaily
We've documented how WorldNetDaily writer Art Moore has repeatedly promoted a biased study advocating thte use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, falsely claiming it was published in a medical journal that ultimately rejected it because of unsubstantiated claims. But that's not the only problem with one of the articles Moore used to push the bogus claim. Moore wrote in a May 17 article:
India has become the center of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but a drop in cases has coincided with the national health ministry's promotion of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine treatments.
The India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare updated its guidelines on April 28 for treating the asymptomatic and those with mild symptoms of COVID-19
Since then, the data show cases have plunged in some areas, reported a leading promoter in the United States of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, Dr. Pierre Kory, the COVID blog reported.
On Monday, Indian officials announced the country's daily COVID-19 cases fell below 300,000 for the first time in 25 days.
In fact, as PolitiFact pointed out, there is no proven link between the decline in cases and use of vermectin and hydroxychloroquine:
Daily COVID-19 cases in India decreased in the days before May 17 — but only after a nearly vertical rise that started in April and peaked May 8. The Indian government has recommended limited use of the two drugs for COVID-19, but there is no evidence that their use led to the drop in cases.
[...]
Confirmed new COVID-19 cases in India declined in the days before the article was posted, based on a seven-day rolling average — but only after reaching a peak following a sharp increase that started in April.
The seven-day average of new daily cases was 319,497 on May 17, the date of the post, down from a peak of 391,232 on May 8, according to Our World in Data. The U.S. average was 32,036 on May 17.
Many experts caution that the Indian government’s official tallies of confirmed cases likely vastly underestimate the actual infection figures because testing remains limited and the volume of cases has crippled the health care system in some areas. So the actual extent of the decline is not clear.
Hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin are being widely used in India for COVID-19, according to news reports. But there is no evidence they led to the recent decline in confirmed cases, given the lack of clear scientific evidence that they are effective at all in prevention or treatment.
Nevertheless, Moore has clung to his coronavirus conspiracies. He asserted, without evidence to back it up, that "there are 219 peer-reviewed studies indicating the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment and prophylaxis against COVID-19. And 54 peer-reviewed studies show the effectiveness of ivermectin as treatment and prophylaxis against COVID-19."
So in thrall is Moore to the propaganda he must believe as an employee of rabidly pro-Trump WND that the headline of his article laughably calls the medications "Trump drugs." It's actually kind of sad that he feels he must do that.
