A Houston doctor received "corrective action" from the Texas Medical Board in October after prescribing hydroxychloroquine to a patient suffering from COVID-19 without warning them of the possible health complications.
Dr. Stella Immanuel gained significant notoriety during the heat of the pandemic after claiming that hydroxychloroquine could be used as a cure for the COVID infection. Immanuel told the Houston Chronicle that she had given the drug to "hundreds" of her patients.
Hydroxychloroquine has not been proven in scientific studies to be effective against COVID-19 and is not FDA-approved to be used as a treatment for the virus. Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that "the potential benefits of [hydroxychloroquine] do not appear to outweigh the risks."
The Texas Medical Board stated that Immanuel must provide proof of informed consent to all patients that she prescribes hydroxychloroquine, which ensures that the patient is aware of potential health risks. This practice must also be enforced for all unapproved treatments of COVID-19.
Additionally, Immanuel must "adopt policies that require all consent documents to be reviewed and signed by the patient for off-label treatment," according to the Chronicle.
The medical board also fined Immanuel $500.
These actions, however, were considered only corrective in nature by the medical board, and as a result, will not cause any marks against Immanuel's record.
A native of Cameroon, Immanuel graduated from medical school in Nigeria in 1990 before moving to the United States in 1992. She began her career at a clinic in Louisiana before being licensed to practice medicine in Texas in 2019.
Beyond pushing the benefits of hydroxychloroquine, Immanuel has also promoted a variety of other debunked treatments for COVID-19, as well as other ailments. Her official website states that she was one of the "frontline doctors advocating for early treatment of covid19 [sic]," and also described her as "a pastor and deliverance minister."
A church run by Immanuel, Firepower Ministries, is located in a strip mall next to her Houston clinic.
Immanuel has also stated, among other things, that she attempts to remove spirits and demons from her patients, and has also stated that many gynecological diseases arise from "demon sperm" transmitted during sex dreams with supernatural beings.
Additionally, Immanuel has stated that she believes in the existence of alien DNA within patients, and AFP has reported that she also thinks the United States is being run by "reptilians."
Immanuel famously recorded a video in July 2020 claiming that she had treated hundreds of COVID patients with hydroxychloroquine, and also disparaged social distancing and mask-wearing. She went viral after the video was retweeted by then-President Donald Trump, just months before he would contract COVID-19 himself.
The video was eventually removed by a number of social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Trump was not the only politician to promote Immanuel's theories. It was revealed in September that Florida's new surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, had previously appeared in an advertisement for Immanuel.
Newsweek has reached out to Dr. Immanuel's Houston clinic for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
