Retractions of coronavirus research show the science is working as it should
Mistakes and corrections are a hallmark of progress, not foul play. Importantly, these errors were exposed by other scientists.
Several high-profile papers on Covid-19 research have come under fire from people in the scientific community in recent weeks. Two articles addressing the safety of certain drugs when taken by Covid-19 patients were retracted (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/health/coronavirus-hydroxychloroquine.html), and researchers are calling for the retraction of a third paper that evaluated behaviours that mitigate coronavirus transmission (https://metrics.stanford.edu/PNAS%20retraction%20request%20LoE%20061820).
Some people are viewing the retractions as an indictment of the scientific process (https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lancets-politicized-science-on-antimalarial-drugs-11591053222?cx_testId=3&cx_testVariant=cx_4&cx_artPos=0#cxrecs_s). Certainly, the overturning of these papers is bad news, and there is plenty of blame to go around...
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