Yes, it's time to once again fact-check TERB's own "Dr Ivermectin", Oracle. And what do we find?....
As expected, Orry has infallibly quoted another scam artist....
en.wikipedia.org
Early in the
COVID-19 pandemic, Kory advocated for using increasing doses of
corticosteroids and
anticoagulants for hospitalized people with COVID-19, at a time when the general recommendation was merely for
supportive care.
[10] Kory sees subsequent evidence from the
RECOVERY Trial, which showed benefit from lower doses of corticosteroids, as vindicating his approach; medical researcher
Kevin J. Tracey has said it is still unknown whether Kory's approach was beneficial or harmful. Kory has used other drugs off-label in his treatment regimens, including
famotidine and
intravenous vitamin C.
[10] Kory gave testimony as a guest of
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson at a May 5, 2020, Senate hearing in which he called for use of steroids in COVID-19 patients.
[9][11] He resigned from UW Health in May out of frustration of its reluctance to implement such measures.
[10][12]
Kory is president and co-founder of the
Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), a small U.S. organization of physicians and former journalists formed in April 2020 that advocates for ineffective COVID-19 treatments, including ivermectin.
[14][1][2][15] The FLCCC falsely states that ivermectin reduces
viral load and accelerates recovery in patients, while the
World Health Organization,
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and
European Medicines Agency advise against the use of ivermectin outside of clinical trials.
[16][17][18]
On December 8, 2020, Kory was a witness at a Senate hearing called by the
US Senate Homeland Security Committee Chair
Ron Johnson,
[19] which was criticized as promoting fringe ideas about COVID-19.
[20] Kory described
ivermectin as "miraculous" and as a "wonder drug" to be used against COVID-19. Video footage of his statements
went viral on social media, receiving over one million views within a few days.
[3] Kory became a leading advocate of the use of ivermectin throughout the pandemic, promoting a
conspiracy theory that its true effectiveness was being suppressed by the "Gods of Science" who wanted to monopolize scientific information.
[21] Kory resigned from Aurora St Luke's afterwards, claiming that new restrictions on his contract threatened to limit his freedom to speak.
[11][12]
In November 2021 the
Journal of Intensive Care Medicine retracted a paper written by Kory,
Paul E. 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.
[22][23]
In February 2022, the
American Journal of Therapeutics issued an
expression of concern against a 2021
systematic review of which Kory had been
lead author. The notice said there were suspicions about the integrity of the underlying data on which the paper depended to show that ivermectin was a viable treatment for COVID-19.
[24][25]
By July 2022, Kory had begun endorsing
misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, downplaying the
COVID-19 vaccines' effectiveness and spreading conspiracy theories about
their safety and unreported fatalities. Kory claimed on a
conservative podcast that COVID-19 vaccines "are not safe or effective", despite acknowledging that "There's just tons of papers in journals showing that the vaccines are safe and effective."
[26] As of August 2021, studies reported that the COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States are "highly protective against severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19".
[27] In comparison with fully vaccinated people, the CDC reported that unvaccinated people were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die.
[28][29]
Kory in August 2022 falsely claimed that vaccines can disrupt
pregnancy and
fertility, based on his reading of Pfizer data submitted to the FDA, an interpretation which is not supported by
peer-reviewed evidence. He represented the rates of miscarriage after COVID vaccination as alarming,
[30] when the rates are in fact consistent with background miscarriage rates of 11-16 percent in the general population.
[31] Multiple studies have shown that COVID infection, not vaccination against COVID-19, is risky for pregnant women. One study found that the risk of
fetal or newborn mortality is higher in unvaccinated pregnant women who contract COVID, than it is for vaccinated women infected with COVID at the same stage of pregnancy.
[32] Further, according to studies cited by the
CDC, there is no evidence of decreased fertility due to COVID vaccination now or in the future, and changes in menstrual cycles are small and temporary.
[33]
Kory repeatedly questions peer-reviewed science on COVID, the COVID-19 vaccine
emergency use authorization process overseen by federal agencies, and the profit motives of
pharmaceutical companies, while he also profits from marketing
off-label and
"alternative" COVID treatments that are lacking in quality evidence.
[34] His rhetoric carries many of the markings of
conspiracy theory, which make emotional arguments that presume malfeasance and coordinated efforts and deliberate obfuscation of information. Such theories become ingrained in in-groups as a form of
secret knowledge, which reinforces the fervor with which the ideas are believed. Kory's detractors such as David Gorski
[35][36] have noted his efforts to promote and profit from alternative COVID treatments are similar to medical quackery going back centuries.
[26][37]
In June 2022, Kory tweeted that the
American Board of Internal Medicine had warned him that his
board certification was in danger of being revoked for misinformation.
[34] Effectively unable to practice within mainstream medicine, Kory launched his own “advanced COVID-19 care center", charging US$1,250 to 1,650 for a series of three appointments.
[34]
In November 2022, Kory and the FLCCC began marketing a cocktail of supplements and drugs (e.g. ivermectin and
nitazoxanide) for other viruses, influenza and
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Like the FLCCC-advocated COVID treatments, the recommendations lacked credible supporting scientific evidence. The Washington Post estimated that this cocktail could cost over $500.
[38]