RamboNation t1_j0ob2r1 wrote
Reply to comment by Heres_your_sign in Cambridge scientists have shown that a widely-used drug to treat liver disease can prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection or reduce COVID-19 severity by hot
I don't agree that it is irresponsible. If the drug has this unexpected beneficial effect it's important to publish the finding so more research can be done or production increased. Also the article was fairly straightforward about the results, discussing the theory, tests done in hamsters, human organs, and a natural experiment of people already taking the drug. What would be irresponsible would be folks rushing out to get the drug before a more thorough study, but that's the responsibility of the reader I suppose.
HighNoon1200 t1_j0odw4d wrote
Which you can’t assume readers will be responsible with this information. Therefore, an irresponsible article.
the-mighty-kira t1_j0oexh1 wrote
Doctors still need to prescribe it, which they aren’t going to do strictly on a patient saying they read an article about it
HighNoon1200 t1_j0pnwbb wrote
That’s what all of US healthcare is. “I saw an ad for this medicine you think I should take it?”
the-mighty-kira t1_j0qns2l wrote
You’re missing the other half of that though. Pharma companies also heavily push ads, samples, white papers, etc to the doctors. This means that if the patient brings it up, the doctor will have likely heard of it and be more likely to prescribe. Barring that, a doctor isn’t going to risk a malpractice suit for prescribing a drug that may injure their patient
Cyathem t1_j0phli1 wrote
>Which you can’t assume readers will be responsible with this information. Therefore, an irresponsible article.
"Lay people cannot be trusted with information. They are too stupid to think for themselves and need to be told what to think."
What an anti-scientific take. Do better.
HighNoon1200 t1_j0po4xu wrote
No there’s no reason to rush out an under researched article. Science needs to do better.
Cyathem t1_j0qsunq wrote
It's not rushed out. If you read the actual paper, it literally says across every single page that it is still in the process of review. If you choose to disregard that information and take it as truth, that's you not understanding how the system works. It's no fault of the researchers and no indication of the quality of the research.
Source: I write and publish scientific papers for work.
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