Aliens and reptilians: the odd beliefs of Stella Immanuel, doctor in US viral video retweeted by Trump
- Facebook, Twitter and YouTube remove video of Houston-area doctor pushing misleading claims about hydroxychloroquine
- Dr Immanuel has also pushed outlandish claims about DNA from outer-space aliens being used in modern medicine
A Houston doctor who praised hydroxychloroquine as a miracle coronavirus cure in a viral video retweeted by President Donald Trump blames gynaecological problems on sex with evil spirits and believes the US government is run by “reptilians”.
Stella Immanuel’s viral speech has drawn attention to a little-known group calling themselves “America’s Frontline Doctors” who appear to exist to promote the common antimalarial drug in the fight against Covid-19.
“Nobody needs to get sick. This virus has a cure – it is called hydroxychloroquine,” Immanuel exclaimed Monday as she stood on the steps of the Supreme Court in Washington at a so-called “White Coat Summit” of like-minded doctors.
Early on in the pandemic, scientists were eager to find out whether hydroxychloroquine’s antiviral properties would make it effective in real-world patients with SARS-CoV-2.
So far though, all the major clinical trials that have reported their findings on this question have found no benefit, and leading national health authorities have moved to restrict its use because of potential cardiac harm.
Nonetheless the family doctor said all 350 patients she had treated with the medicine – including those with serious pre-existing conditions – had survived, and that hydroxychloroquine was so potent it made mask-wearing and lockdowns unnecessary.