Covid-19 has significantly impacted Brazil, and many people are seeking assistance. In the northeast of Brazil, ophthalmologist Dr Albert Dickson provides prospective patients free medical consultations and advice on preventing the virus. So what’s the catch?
The catch is that you need to subscribe to his YouTube channel.
How will you be eligible for the consultation? First, you’ll register for our channel. Then, you will take a screenshot and WhatsApp it to me. You will begin to have access once you send it, he said in a video posted on Facebook in March.
Sending the screenshot is the key to success.
In his consultation process, he writes prescriptions for medicines like ivermectin. Although he and others assert that using that treatment to treat lice and scabies prevents Covid, numerous reputable health organizations say there is no proof to support those assertions.
In an interview, several patients who had contacted Dr Dickson on WhatsApp confirmed that they had received a canned response outlining the procedure and urging them to follow him on Instagram.
Dr Dickson claims that he “recommends” that people subscribe to his Instagram and YouTube channels because he posts the most recent research there, goes into great detail about the disease and our experience with it, and responds to live questions.
According to him, a channel subscription is not required to receive a consultation—just an idea from us. Many refuse to comply, but we still act. The online consultation is free; I’ve never asked for payment.
Additionally, Dr Dickson asserted that he was first and foremost a physician and that the Brazilian Federal Council of Medicine, which oversees physicians, gave him the authority to treat Covid-19.
More than 200,000 people subscribe to his YouTube channel. Along with 50,000 fans on Facebook, he has about 140,000 followers across two Instagram accounts.
According to a new rule, YouTube had removed 12 of the doctor’s videos for spreading false information about the medicine. These videos included ones in which the doctor claimed there was a guaranteed treatment for Covid and suggested using ivermectin or another medication, hydroxychloroquine.
Nevertheless, the channel itself was left standing because the videos were posted before the new rule went into effect on April 12th.
Instagram is owned by Facebook, which also claims that it removes any false disease-related claims. However, when this story was published, the doctor’s insistence that ivermectin can prevent Covid was still active on Facebook.
Early intervention
Dr Dickson is not the only physician in Brazil who supports drugs that have not been scientifically proven to treat Covid or are ineffective against the virus.
Some refer to it as “medical intervention,” and the medications they prescribe include hydroxychloroquine, which has been shown in numerous studies to be ineffective against Covid.
Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and “early treatment” have all received praise from President Bolsonaro in public at various points.
Covid has caused the deaths of more than 439,000 people in Brazil.
Dr Dickson stated that he has advocated “appropriate treatment” since the pandemic and will continue to do so.
It seems like a lot of people use his service. In one of his videos, the doctor claims he assists 500 people daily, from Sunday to Sunday, from 7:00 to 03:00 every day.
Dickson stated that he had treated 31,000 patients worldwide and followed up by emailing more than 6,000 others during a meeting in Brazil’s Congress in July last year. He reported two fatalities.
The doctor refused to provide any number when asked how many people he had “healed” for Covid since the pandemic’s start.
Dr Dickson, a Rio Grande do Norte Legislative Assembly representative, introduced two bills on “medical intervention” in May of last year.
In one of the bills, it was suggested that “free drug kits containing hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, and azithromycin drugs” be made available. The other bill called for health insurance companies to provide access to these medications.
Covid-19 treatment
Dr Dickson sent three prescriptions. All three bear his name and the phrase “God be exalted!” in a religious context. Study the Bible.
On one of Dickson’s Covid prescriptions, ivermectin is listed alongside several other drugs, including azithromycin, prednisone, dutasteride, spironolactone, bromhexine, apixaban, and vitamin D. Treatment for enlarged prostate with dutasteride is available.
A professor of pharmacology states that there is “no proof” that any of this is detrimental to Covid.
The Anti-vaccination files
A renowned doctor claims that the myth of “taking supplements,” or taking more of various substances to confer “super immunity,” is pervasive both in general society and among medical professionals.
One of Dr Dickson’s patients, who have been taking ivermectin once a week since last year came out to speak about the incident.
What studies have revealed?
As per the medical specialist, no reliable studies demonstrate that the medications prescribed by Dr Dickson have any effect against Covid and taking them in advance could be dangerous.
According to him, taking an anticoagulant like apixaban exposes you to unnecessary side effects like a higher risk of bleeding.
He claims that it should not be used as a preventative by anyone. Furthermore, taking corticosteroids like prednisone in the early stages of the illness can lower immunity.
It has been established that hydroxychloroquine, promoted over the past year by both former US President Donald Trump and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, is ineffective against Covid. As a result, a group of international experts from the WHO in March of this year “strongly recommended” not to use it in treating the disease.
The same can be said for azithromycin. A large-scale randomized clinical trial published in December 2020 found that the antibiotic had no beneficial effects in patients hospitalized with Covid.
According to some studies, there is evidence that vitamin D contributes to better COVID outcomes. However, a large-scale randomized clinical trial published in December 2020 found that the antibiotic had no beneficial effects in patients hospitalized with Covid-19.
Accountability
Doctor and bioethics professor claims that medical professionals who recommend “immediate treatment” may be held accountable for adverse effects.
According to him, exposing “the life or health of others to direct and imminent danger” is illegal and carries a three- to a one-year prison sentence.
He asserts that while the doctor has autonomy, this does not absolve him of responsibility for his actions. “It’s not a free pass.”
