The Mayo Clinic pulled information off its website this week after a former Trump official highlighted what it said about hydroxychloroquine’s use to treat COVID-19.
"From Mayo Clinic website grudging admission of glaring truth: 'Hydroxychloroquine may be used to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) in certain hospitalized patients,'" said Peter Navarro, former director of the Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy on X. For those "who spread lies about hydroxy, this one's for u."
The information listed on the website at the time of his post was then picked up by others on social media.
Seriously running out of conspiracy theories pic.twitter.com/cohEh3Zju7
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 25, 2023
According to the Post Bulletin, the information about the antimalarial drug was added to Mayo’s website in May of 2020, but the following month the statement noted that "(h)ydroxychloroquine should only be used for COVID-19 in a hospital or during clinical trials. Do not take any medicine that contains hydroxychloroquine unless prescribed by your doctor." That information remained on the site until this week.
Following the attention Navarro’s post drew, a Mayo Clinic spokesperson told the Post Bulletin the page was removed so it could be updated “to make it clear that hydroxychloroquine should not be used to treat COVID-19 patients."
"Mayo Clinic is aware that inaccurate information about hydroxychloroquine was included on one of our web pages," the health system told the outlet. "This content was provided by a vendor. Hydroxychloroquine is not part of Mayo Clinic's prescribed treatment algorithms for COVID-19. Mayo Clinic does not endorse the use of hydroxychloroquine for treating COVID-19 patients. We are also taking steps to prevent the introduction of errors in content supplied to Mayo Clinic for use on our web pages."
Here's how the website now reads:
Hydroxychloroquine is not recommended as a treatment for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Also, hydroxychloroquine doesn't prevent infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
In March 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, also called the FDA, allowed emergency use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19. The FDA based this authorization on data collected from healthcare professionals and tests done on cell lines, not humans.
The FDA also began tracking the health of people taking these medicines.
In April 2020, the FDA warned healthcare professionals against using hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to treat COVID-19 unless people were in the hospital or a clinical trial. Data collected by the FDA found heart problems at a higher rate among people taking these medicines compared with those who didn't take them.
In June 2020, the FDA ended the emergency use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for treatment of COVID-19.
Over time, clinical trials showed hydroxychloroquine:
- Led to serious heart problems in some people.
- Did not effectively treat COVID-19.
- Did not prevent infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
Available treatments for COVID-19
The FDA has approved or authorized for emergency use other medicines to treat COVID-19. People can get these medicines with a prescription.
Some of the medicines prevent the virus that causes COVID-19 from making copies of itself. Others block activity within the virus that helps it make copies. Some medicines work with the body's immune system, while others lower the level of inflammation in the body to help treat COVID-19. Researchers are studying other medicines to treat and prevent COVID-19.
Don't take any medicine for COVID-19 without a prescription and your healthcare professional's approval. These medicines can have serious side effects. They're only used for people who are very ill and under a healthcare professional's care. (Mayo Clinic)