The Guild of Medical Directors of Nigeria has reacted to the viral video of Dr Stella Immanuel on using hydroxylchloroquine to cure COVID-19.
Immanuel in the video that has gone viral on the Internet, claimed that she had treated over 350 COVID-19 patients using hydroxylchloroquine.
She also claimed that the drug could be used to prevent the virus.
The video has since generated global reaction.
Taking its stand on the claim by Dr Immanuel, medical directors in Nigeria posited that her claims were unsubstantiated and should only be taken as her personal opinion.
Prof Olufemi Emmanuel Babalola, President of GMD in Nigeria, advised against the politicisation of the outbreak of the virus, urging the world to stay safe.
He said, “As we speak, a study is underway in LUTH on its efficacy and safety. Subsequently, a meta-analysis of all these studies should be undertaken to pool all the results and come up with a summative analysis which will guide clinicians.
“So, a lot of the burden in explaining the problem as related to the video naturally falls on us. Therefore, we feel it is pertinent to explain or clarify the issues for Nigerians.
“We must reiterate that Coronavirus is real and COVID-19 is an indiscriminate killer.
“We know from personal experience since it has killed many doctors and nurses all over the country, including our very own Prof. Lovett Lawson.The disease is definitely not a joke.
“This disease is definitely not a joke and we strongly condemn the politicization of the disease and the treatments currently being used to fight the pandemic.
“As at today, the whole world is still actively looking for an effective treatment and of course, a vaccine. Until then, everyone has a responsibility to remain safe and protect one another through the ways proven to help.”
Meanwhile, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are removing the videos of the press conference of Dr Immanuel from its platform.
Facebook has also taken down the profile of Dr Immanuel with, which she began sharing the video.
The video had generated over 13 million views on Facebook alone.
Facebook stated that it removed the video because of false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19.
“Hello Facebook put back my profile page and videos up or your computers with start crashing till you do. You are not bigger that God. I promise you. If my page is not back up Facebook will be down in Jesus name,” she posted on her Twitter account.
YouTube also removed the video of the press conference, replacing the footage with a message saying that the content was removed for “violating YouTube’s Community Guidelines.”
