By examining the manipulation of hydroxychloroquine during the covid era to attain a political end, this article seeks to illustrate the destructive forces brought to bear on how medicine was practised in Australia, with shameless disregard for the health and survival of patients, or for the integrity of those charged to care for their well-being.

The Curious Case of Hydroxychloroquine
This essay appears in the March 2024 issue of the Australian online magazine Quadrant. Click HERE to subscribe.

By Professor Robert Clancy

The discipline of medicine has changed. Its traditional cohesion and leadership have fractured into a multitude of disconnected specialty groups, allowing powerful commercial and political forces to increase control over both structure and function of medical practice. The covid era burst through boundaries long taken for granted.

By examining the manipulation of hydroxychloroquine to attain a political end, this article seeks to illustrate the destructive forces brought to bear on how medicine was practised in Australia, with shameless disregard for the health and survival of patients, or for the integrity of those charged to care for their well-being.