Coronavirus: Lancet retracts study claiming death risk from use of HCQ

Based on this development, we can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources, the retraction statement noted

The authors of the research linking the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and increased death risk during Covid-19 treatment have retracted the Lancet study as they were unable to share the full dataset for an independent peer-review.

"Several concerns were raised with respect to the veracity of the data and analyses conducted by Surgisphere Corporation and its founder and our co-author, Sapan Desai, in our publication," the authors of the study wrote in the retraction statement published in The Lancet journal.

When an independent third-party peer review of Surgisphere was initiated with the consent of the co-authors of the study to evaluate the origination of the database, and to replicate the analyses presented in the paper, the peer reviewers noted that Surgisphere would not transfer the full dataset.
 

They were also unable to obtain details on client contracts to their servers for analysis since such transfer would violate client agreements with the company and confidentiality requirements.

"Based on this development, we can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources. Due to this unfortunate development, the authors request that the paper be retracted," the retraction statement noted.

WHO's flip-flop

Right after the medical journal's study, highlighting hydroxychloroquine posed significant cardiac risks, was published, the World Health Organisation  temporarily paused the clinical trials of the drug. WHO said the Data Safety Monitoring Board will be reviewing the data collected so far on the anti-malaria drug and its harms and benefits in use against Covid-19.

However, now WHO has resumed trials into the effectiveness of HCQ.