(L-R) Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, Maria Bartiromo, and Dr. Pierre Kory during a Jan. 9 episode of Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo – Photo: Fox News
A Fox News guest has advised viewers to combat COVID-19 with drugs typically used to help transgender people transition instead of vaccines.
Dr. Pierre Kory, a frequent Fox News guest, appeared on the January 9 edition of Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo to encourage viewers to follow some of the treatments recommended by his group, Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, as an alternative to vaccinations.
Kory referred viewers to the group’s website, which recommends ivermectin — which the FDA warns against using to prevent or treat COVID-19 — as well as other claimed treatments such as gargling mouthwash, which Crest and Listerine do not recommend to treat COVID-19.
If those “first line agents” don’t work against COVID-19, FLCCC suggests taking spironolactone — which is typically used to treat high blood pressure or heart failure, as well as some extreme forms of acne — for 10 days, along with daily doses dutasteride or finasteride, both of which are often used to treat enlarged prostates.
Using spironolactone, dutasteride or finasteride at the levels levels suggested by FLCCC matches — and may actually exceed — the levels recommended to help transgender women transition, according to the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America.
So, in its efforts to promote anti-vaccine advocacy, Fox News has perhaps inadvertently recommended hormones that can assist in a gender transition (although trans women transitioning would likely also be taking estrogen in concert with spironolactone).
Twitter user “twinkbride pearl” noted the unusual nature of the FLCCC’s COVID-19 recommendations in a thread.
“Trans women will be intimately familiar with two of these medications: spironolactone and finasteride, both of which are used to suppress testosterone. These are levels comparable or even above what many trans women take,” she tweeted.
“[S]ome of the same people who think eating soy turns you into a girl are willingly taking t-blockers.”
trans women will be intimately familiar with two of these medications: spironolactone and finasteride, both of which are used to suppress testosterone. these are levels comparable or even above what many trans women take
Some other transgender Twitter users expressed outrage that anti-vaccine advocates could potentially be granted access the hormones off-label, while transgender people seeking to transition often encounter obstacles from the medical establishment and have to fight to access those same drugs.
This is funny as fuck, but I'm also furious that they have access to the stuff so easily while trans people have to fight tooth and nail for years to transition
— Human rights are good, actually (@AQueerPanda) January 9, 2022
Other Twitter users warned of potential side effects.
“Besides the anti-androgenic effects, spiro. can [decrease] blood pressure & [increase] blood potassium levels, particularly if the patient’s also taking certain drugs,” one user, who claims to be a pediatric nurse practitioner, tweeted.
“It’s horrifying that this document, which they’re just disseminating to anyone w/ an Internet connection, doesn’t warn about that.”
Besides the anti-androgenic effects, spiro. can ⬇️blood pressure & ⬆️blood potassium levels, particularly if the patient’s also taking certain drugs. It’s horrifying that this document, which they’re just disseminating to anyone w/ an Internet connection, doesn’t warn about that
While it’s not unusual for conservative outlets to promote anti-vaccine viewpoints — The Daily Beastrecently reported on one anti-vaccine advocate who even recommended drinking one’s own urine to help ward off COVID-19 — the FLCCC’s recommendations for “second line agents” took many, especially those familiar with transgender health care by surprise.
While it is likely such alternative treatments will continue to be pushed by some outlets, this appears to be the first time drugs that assist in a gender transition have been recommended alongside popular off-label “cures” like ivermectin or anti-malarial drugs like hydroxychloroquine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone 5 years and older protect themselves against COVID-19 by getting fully vaccinated.
“COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death,” the CDC notes.
The CDC also recommends the wearing of masks in public indoor settings or areas of high community transmission, regardless of vaccination status.
The CDC also advises that those with emergency warning signs for COVID-19, including trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, or pale or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds should seek emergency care immediately.
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a Tennessee law banning doctors from prescribing gender-affirming puberty blockers and hormones to transgender youth with gender dysphoria.
A group of families of transgender youth and a doctor who treats them sued to overturn the law, arguing it was unconstitutional, infringed on parental rights, and violated nondiscrimination protections in the Affordable Care Act. Lower courts ultimately dismissed the parental rights and ACA-based claims.
In another swipe at the transgender community, the national monument honoring what is widely seen as the seminal event of the modern LGBTQ rights movement has erased all mention of transgender and queer people.
Each June, the Stonewall National Monument in New York City typically decorates the fence surrounding Christopher Park -- the small park adjacent to the historic Stonewall Inn and part of the official monument -- with various Pride flags.
In past years, the display has featured a mix of flags -- the familiar six-stripe rainbow Pride flag, the blue, pink, and white transgender Pride flag, and the "Progress" flag, which adds stripes for Black and brown communities and a chevron design incorporating transgender and intersex Pride colors.
"Right now, more than ever, we need global solidarity. And WorldPride is probably the closest thing we have to a visible manifestation of the unity we have across borders," says Ymania Brown, one of the co-presidents of InterPride, the international umbrella organization of Pride organizers.
"The goal for us at InterPride and for WorldPride is for our members and everyone who comes to WorldPride in Washington, to walk away knowing that we are not alone," she continues. "That our struggles, while unique in different countries and different regions, are shared. And as a result of that shared struggle, our victories, and the successes we have in changing laws for our people, are collective."
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