Tale of Tamiflu
17th January 2022
Tamiflu’s story would become more complicated as a multiyear effort spearheaded by the British Medical Journal would highlight many problems with clinical transparency that still resonate today. Approval of Tamiflu and subsequent billions spent by world governments stockpiling it for a potential swine flu pandemic was all based upon recommendations by the CDC, WHO, and EMA. None of which ever actually vetted the primary data and took it at face value. A Cochrane review would conclude after a four-year legal fight to obtain the primary data that there was no clear evidence to support the claims that Tamiflu improved influenza complications or infections but did raise concerns about side effects like nausea, vomiting, headaches, hallucinations, and depression.
Boy, that sure sounds familiar.