JAMA ivermectin study deception of study participants is publicly confirmed
This is a repost from original reporting in TrialSite News.
March 24, 2021 (Original publication date)
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published “Effect of Ivermectin on Time to Resolution of Symptoms Among Adults With Mild COVID-19” on March 4, 2021. Our reporting found that the study participants were told that the study drug was “D11AX22 Molecule” instead of “ivermectin”. As Eduardo López-Medina explained in a telephone conversation, the use of “D11AX22 Molecule” instead of “ivermectin” was necessary to improve recruitment of volunteers to the study. Patients were likely to know of ivermectin and the low risk of adverse events. As such, they might not have seen the need for participating in the study.
López-Medina confirmed this publicly in a comment to JAMA on March 23, 2021:
“Regarding the question of whether the informed consent form (ICF) used “D11AX22 Molecule” to refer to ivermectin, the answer is yes.”
Attention now turns squarely to JAMA. Continued knowing publication of this article firmly legitimizes the use of deception in the recruitment of volunteers to clinical trials.