Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance

The Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) is a group of physicians and former journalists formed in April 2020 that has advocated for various treatments (e.g. hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin) for COVID-19, most of them ineffective, and some other drugs and vitamins of dubious efficacy.[1][2][3][4][5][6] The group is led by Paul E. Marik and Pierre Kory.[3]

Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance
AbbreviationFLCCC
FormationMarch 2020
Presidents
Pierre Kory, Paul E. Marik
Websitewww.covid19criticalcare.com

The World Health Organization, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and European Medicines Agency advise against the use of ivermectin for COVID-19 outside of clinical trials, but the FLCCC has contended that ivermectin could reduce viral load and accelerate recovery in patients.[7][8][9]

History

The FLCCC was started by eight medics and two former journalists in April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.[3] According to its co-president, Paul E. Marik, the group has a shared interest in vitamin C.[2]

The group initially started promoting Marik's discredited sepsis treatment protocol as a treatment for COVID-19, and in April 2020 it circulated press releases promoting vitamin C, heparin, hydroxychloroquine and other drugs, before pivoting to ivermectin promotion in October 2020.[3]

In November 2021 the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine retracted a paper written by Kory, Marik, and others. The retraction was triggered when it was found the paper misreported the mortality figures of people treated for COVID-19 with the FLCCC's "MATH+" protocol, falsely making it appear to be an effective treatment.[10][11]

Advocacy of ivermectin for COVID-19

In January 2021, the FLCCC presented findings on the use of the anti-parasite drug ivermectin against COVID-19 to the National Institutes of Health, which ruled there was "insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19" without clinical trials.[4] A 2021 review article by FLCCC members on the efficacy of ivermectin, which was provisionally accepted by Frontiers in Pharmacology, was subsequently rejected on account of what the publisher called "a series of strong, unsupported claims based on studies with insufficient statistical significance" meaning that the article did "not offer an objective [or] balanced scientific contribution to the evaluation of ivermectin as a potential treatment for COVID-19".[12] The FLCCC review article included a study from Egypt that was later retracted after anomalies were found in its data and concerns were raised about plagiarism.[13]

Stance on vaccines

In 2021 the FLCCC said "vaccination is part of the solution", but COVID-19 vaccines were not listed in its preventative protocols, and in June 2022 a FAQ on the website, "What is your position on vaccines?", was removed.[14][15] In August 2021 one doctor, Eric Osgood, resigned from the FLCCC because the group "may be contributing to people making the choice not to get vaccinated". Osgood commented: "If you're going to have a page that's dedicated to 'How do you prevent yourself from getting COVID?' that page can't not have vaccines at the top of it".[3]

Susanna Priest, editor-in-chief of Science Communication, has said the FLCCC's messaging is discouraging vaccination thereby prolonging the pandemic.[3]

Ohio lawsuit

In 2021, Fred Wagshul, a member of the FLCCC, prescribed ivermectin for a patient in a hospital in Ohio where he did not have admitting privileges.[16][17] The patient's wife secured a temporary injunction from a judge of the Butler County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas ordering the man's doctors to administer ivermectin; a different judge of the same court overrode the order, determining that the plaintiff had failed to meet the requirements for a temporary injunction and writing, "there can be no doubt that the medical and scientific communities do not support the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19".[17][18]

See also

References
  1. Szalinski, Christina. "Fringe Doctors' Groups Promote Ivermectin for COVID despite a Lack of Evidence". Scientific American. Kory is president of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), a group of physicians and scientists who champion ivermectin, along with other drugs and vitamins with dubious efficacy against COVID.
  2. Fiore, Kristina (6 January 2021). "What's Behind the Ivermectin-for-COVID Buzz?". MedPage Today.
  3. Hilary Brueck (17 September 2021). "2 fringe doctors created the myth that ivermectin is a 'miracle cure' for COVID-19 — whipping up false hope that could have deadly consequences". Business Insider.
  4. Wadvalla, Bibi-Aisha (April 1, 2021). "Covid-19: Ivermectin's politicisation is a warning sign for doctors". The BMJ. 373: n747. doi:10.1136/bmj.n747. PMID 33795225.
  5. "Fact-checking claim about the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19". Politifact. April 23, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. Hayes, Kelly (December 8, 2020). "Doctor pleads for review of data on ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment during Senate hearing". FOX 10 Phoenix.
  7. Breitenbach, Dagmar (January 20, 2021). "Fact check: Effective (and ineffective) COVID-19 treatments". Deutsche Welle.
  8. "EMA advises against use of ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 outside randomised clinical trials" (Press release). European Medicines Agency. 22 March 2021.
  9. "WHO advises that ivermectin only be used to treat COVID-19 within clinical trials". World Health Organisation. March 31, 2021.
  10. Marcus A (10 November 2021). "Bad MATH+? Covid treatment paper by Pierre Kory retracted for flawed results". Retraction Watch.
  11. "Retraction Notice". Journal of Intensive Care Medicine. November 9, 2021. doi:10.1177/08850666211049062. PMID 34749558. S2CID 243863375.
  12. Offord, Catherine (March 2, 2021). "Frontiers Removes Controversial Ivermectin Paper Pre-Publication". The Scientist.
  13. Fiore, Kristina (2021-07-20). "Large Ivermectin Study Retracted". www.medpagetoday.com. Retrieved 2021-09-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. Goldhill O (26 July 2022). "Encouraged by right-wing doctor groups, desperate patients turn to ivermectin for long Covid". Stat.
  15. Falcan, Russell (2021-09-06). "Ivermectin use surges despite no evidence it treats COVID-19". Nextstar Media Wire. Retrieved 2021-09-12. The FLCCC Alliance says “vaccination is part of the solution” for ending the COVID-19 pandemic, although vaccines are not listed in its preventative protocol plan.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. Kesslen, Ben; Lozano, Alicia Victoria (September 3, 2021). "Ohio doctor who prescribed deworming drug for Covid founded pro-ivermectin group". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-09-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. Mole, Beth (2021-09-07). "Forced use of horse dewormer on COVID patient overturned by Ohio judge". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2021-09-07.
  18. Decision Denying Plaintiff's Action for a Preliminary Injunction, Julie Smith ex rel. Jeffrey Smith v. West Chester Hospital, LLC, Case No. CV 2021 08 1206 (Court of Common Pleas, Butler County, Ohio Sept. 6, 2021).
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