FACT CHECK: Did The Mayo Clinic ‘Quietly Update’ Its Website To Include Hydroxychloroquine As A Treatment For Covid-19?
A viral post shared on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, claims the Mayo Clinic “quietly admits” hydroxychloroquine can be used to treat COVID-19.
JUST IN: Mayo Clinic QUIETLY ADMITS on it’s website that hydroxychloroquine can be used to treat COVID 19..
“Hydroxychloroquine is used to treat malaria.”
“It is also used to prevent malaria infection in areas or regions where it is known that other medicines (eg, chloroquine)… pic.twitter.com/NrGOQoSJvx
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) September 24, 2023
Verdict: Misleading
The Mayo Clinic website listed this information on its informational page about hydroxychloroquine since at least September 2020. The description also appears to be from the brand, not the Mayo Clinic.
Fact Check:
Social media users are sharing a screenshot of the Mayo Clinic website claiming that the organization “quietly admits” that hydroxychloroquine can be used to treat COVID-19. One version reads, “JUST IN: Mayo Clinic QUIETLY ADMITS on it’s website that hydroxychloroquine can be used to treat COVID 19…” Another post claimed that the Mayo Clinic “quietly update[d]” its website to include the medicine as a treatment for COVID-19.
The Mayo Clinic website does state that the medicine “may also be used to treat coronavirus (COVID-19) in certain hospitalized patients.” However, the viral posts failed to include that the Mayo Clinic website has had that language on its page about hydroxychloroquine since September 2020, according to archived versions of the website. (RELATED: No, The CDC Did Not Say The New COVID-19 Variant Is More Contagious Among Vaccinated People)
For example, the page said in September 2020 that the medicine could be used to treat COVID-19 in “certain hospitalized patients.” This is repeated in an archived screenshot from March 2021 and August 2022.
These viral posts also fail to mention that the page states that “[d]rug information provided by: Merative, Micromedex®” and that the medicine “should only be used for COVID-19 in a hospital or during clinical trials.”
Check Your Fact reached out to the Mayo Clinic for comment.
Update 9/25/2023: This piece was updated to add more information. The rating remains unchanged.
