by Eric Lendrum
Over 330 different medical research papers have been retracted in the aftermath of the Chinese Coronavirus pandemic, due to either research errors or ethical problems.
As reported by the Daily Caller, the watchdog group Retraction Watch documented the retractions in a recent report, which noted that most of the papers in question were published in smaller publications. A handful, however, were found in more well-known publications such as Lancet and Science. The retracted papers covered such topics as COVID side effects and the efficiency of alternative treatments such as ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
One such paper was at the University of Manchester two years ago, where researchers claimed that a side effect of the coronavirus was hearing loss; those researchers have now admitted that this is a false claim.
“There was an urgent need for this carefully conducted clinical and diagnostic study to investigate the long-term effects of Covid-19 on the auditory system,” said Kevin Munro, a professor at the University of Manchester’s audiology department. “Many previous studies were published rapidly during the pandemic but lacked good scientific rigor.”
Another example was published in Science journal, focusing on the spread of the Omicron variant in South Africa. After social media users pointed out that some of the samples used in the study could have been false positives, that paper was also retracted.
Gunnveig Grødeland, a senior researcher for the University of Oslo’s Institute of Immunology, also noted that many of the retractions were due to ethical issues such as a lack of informed consent.
“It will, of course, be withdrawn when it is found that ethical guidelines have been breached,” said Grødeland.
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
