Populism and medical advocacy: The case of hydroxychloroquine prior the 2020 United States presidential election

Gabriel Salgado Ribeiro de Sá

Social Science & Medicine, 2025, vol. 367, issue C

Abstract: Leading up to the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, the scientific consensus on hydroxychloroquine's ineffectiveness in treating COVID-19 was dismissed by Executive branch scientists, who promoted it as both a therapeutic solution and a political tool. This article examines how experimental pharmaceuticals were rationalized even before the pandemic declaration, aligning with medical advocacy groups linked to Donald Trump, who criticized the crisis management capacity of existing health institutions. Framing the emergency as requiring extraordinary measures, White House researchers advocated for executive unilateralism and eventually sought to securitize public health by replacing key health authorities with operational medicine specialists. The most controversial case involved an attempt of planned pharmaceutical intervention aimed at saving lives and restoring public confidence in the administration's pandemic response before the 2020 election. The article draws on confidential documents released by the 2022 House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis.

Keywords: COVID-19; Sociology of knowledge; Sociology of pharmaceuticals; Hydroxychloroquine; United States (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953625000553
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:367:y:2025:i:c:s0277953625000553

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
http://www.elsevier. ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117726

Access Statistics for this article

Social Science & Medicine is currently edited by Ichiro (I.) Kawachi and S.V. (S.V.) Subramanian

More articles in Social Science & Medicine from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().