Dr. Stella Immanuel and her colleagues bravely stood in front of the Supreme Court in Washington and held a press conference to discuss treatment of the Coronavirus.

“America’s Frontline Doctors”, as they are called, proclaimed many wild accusations that could be true, but have no scientific evidence to support them, specifically claiming that wearing masks serves no purpose and that hydroxychloroquine is a valid treatment for Covid-19 that is already being used on her patients.

But why is a licensed doctor causing so much controversy?

In reality, her part in causing unnecessary spread of misinformation is small.

What has really drawn attention is that President Trump has reposted parts of the video to his very active social media accounts.

What does this do for everyone else?

Since the President has reposted the video, his followers around the world will be likely to agree with his ideals and with “America’s Frontline Doctors”. Ultimately, this will cause an unprecedented spike in people not wearing masks, a blatant health concern and a breach to everyone else’s safety.

Proven by science, wearing masks is a requirement and an assurance that the virus won’t spread. However, with the public support of the president , the United States will likely experience rising cases of new COVID-19 transmission. With this comes business closures, delayed openings of schools, and most importantly a longer quarantine period.

As everyone is striving to get back to a normal life, it is important to remember that following this misinformation puts us all at risk.

Not only are cases rising in the US, but also people are taking this virus less and less seriously.

What this means is that people are slowly becoming more comfortable with normalcy. They are not wearing masks when going grocery shopping or sanitating less than normal, creating serious safety hazards and unnecessary harm.

We need to be careful of what we share on social media, especially during times like these where everyone is immersed into their phones. In order to lessen the damage of this virus, we need to remain serious and vigilant.

Christopher Paik

<Christopher Paik>