NIH plays legal games while US citizens die
By Peter Yim | Trial Site News | April 24, 2021
On January 14, 2021, the NIH updated its recommendation on the use of ivermectin in COVID-19. It removed its recommendation against the use of ivermectin in COVID-19. However it stated:
“There are insufficient data for the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) to recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.”
The “Panel” consists of 47 medical experts and patient advocates. Presumably, recommendations in the Guidelines are endorsed by a vote of the Panel. However, there is ambiguity about voting since the Guidelines state:
“Updates to existing sections that do not affect the rated recommendations are approved by Panel co-chairs without a Panel vote.”
I submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the NIH on January 25 to find out if there was a vote:
“On January 6, 2021, the NIH COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel met to consider updating their recommendation on the use of Ivermectin in COVID-19. Please answer the following question. As of today, has that Panel taken a vote on whether to change its recommendation? (Date Range for Record Search: From 01/06/2021 To 01/25/2021)”
The NIH responded:
“Please be advised that the FOIA is not intended to answer questions, but rather it is meant for the public to request specifically identified and searchable Federal records that are already in existence, i.e. a record cannot be created in response to a FOIA request. Considering this, your request is not deemed a proper FOIA request as it is in the form of a question, and your NIH FOIA case has been administratively closed.”
I rephrased and resubmitted the FOIA request on January 28:
“All updates to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines that were endorsed by a vote of the Panel. (Date Range for Record Search: From 01/01/2021 To 01/28/2021)”
There was only one update to the Guidelines in that time period and that update was for the ivermectin recommendation. Therefore, if there was a vote on the ivermectin recommendation, the NIH should provide that update. If there was not a vote, the NIH should state that no record is available.
The NIH did not respond to this request within 20 business days as required by law. I have challenged that non-response by the NIH in federal court. The NIH did just provide this response:
“You requested all updates to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines that were endorsed by a vote of the Panel (Date range for record search from 01/01/2021 to 01/28/2021). All approved updates to the guidelines are posted online and can be found at https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/whats-new/. The documents posted on this website respond to your request in full.”
Whether that is a legally adequate response to the FOIA request remains to be seen in the federal court proceeding. What is obvious is that the NIH is playing legal games while US citizens suffer and die from COVID-19.
1 Comment »
Leave a comment
Featured Video
Palestine before 1948
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
Hey Intercept, Something is Very Wrong with Reality Winner and the NSA Leak
By Peter Van Buren | We Meant Well | June 6, 2017
An NSA document purporting to show Russian military hacker attempts to access a Florida company which makes voter registration software is sent anonymously to The Intercept. A low-level NSA contractor, Reality Winner, is arrested almost immediately. What’s wrong with this picture? A lot. … continue
Blog Roll
Recent Comments
roberthstiver on Stop taking advantage of Ukrai… 5 dancing shlomos on Japan’s most senior cancer doc… 5 dancing shlomos on ICC applies for arrest warrant… roberthstiver on Israeli officials’ jaws… papasha408 on Georgian President Vetoes Fore… poisonedwater on Washington is essentially defy… poisonedwater on Houthis Take Down Another US R… poisonedwater on Israeli officials’ jaws… Dennis Wilson on Labor strike in 10 California… roberthstiver on US university president placed… roberthstiver on Israeli officials’ jaws… 5 dancing shlomos on US: Ilan Pappe interrogated by…
Aletho News- PEDIATRIC-PERSPECTIVES—MEASLES-OUTBREAK-BREAKDOWN
- West Confirms Its Intention to Militarize Space – Nebenzia
- A Global Censorship Prison Built by the Women of the CIA
- American Pravda: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in San Bernardino
- Stop taking advantage of Ukraine crisis, China warns US
- Russia reacts to US nuclear experiment
- The Vietnamization of Ukraine
- Israel army is floundering in Gaza, ex-commander says
- Samidoun statement on the International Criminal Court, the Resistance, and justice for Palestine
- Netanyahu ‘rejected’ proposals to resume prisoner swap talks
- If Americans Knew
- Billionaires for Israel started a group with 100 members to secretly work on behalf of Israel
- Why Did the US Spend $320 Million on a Rube Goldberg Pier For Gaza?
- The State Department Says Israel Isn’t Blocking Aid. Videos Show The Opposite.
- War on Gaza: Why Israel deserves to be singled out for criticism
- Medical Workers Evacuated from Gaza, But 3 Americans Refuse To Leave
- ICC orders arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu – Day 226
- As aid dribbles into Gaza, displacement and death prevail – Day 225
- Rain is Coming – On the ongoing Nakba, and the present revolution.
- NWU Report Details Retaliation Against Western Media Workers Speaking Out on Gaza War
- Israeli lawyers at Int’l Court of Justice out of touch with reality – Day 224
- Richie Allen
- The Richie Allen Show Returns Tomorrow Wednesday April 24th
- Call Richie Today Monday March 11th From 4.30pm
- Connect To The Richie Allen Show WhatsApp Today
- NHS Asks Patients To Choose From 12 Genders, 10 sexual Preferences & 159 Religions
- The Richie Allen Show Moves To A New Time Slot From Monday Nov 20th
- Starmer Will Sack Shadow Ministers Who Vote For Gaza Ceasefire
- AI Tool Can Predict Heart Attacks Years In Advance
- Nepal Bans TikTok To Preserve Social Harmony
- Bloke Appointed Boss Of Womb Health Charity
- WHO – “Gaza’s Biggest Hospital Becoming A Cemetery”
- No Tricks Zone
- HadCRUT Has Now Fully Removed 0.15°C From The 1940s Warmth ‘Blip’ As Proposed In 2009 E-mails
- Data Reveal That US Heat Wave Index, Japan Drought Coincide With Solar Activity
- New Study Finds An Extremely Low CO2 Climate Sensitivity For The Arctic And Antarctic
- U.N. Contributing Scientist: ‘Culling’ Human Population Could Avert Climate Catastrophe
- Using Nets On The Seafloor To Retrieve Seafood ‘Roughly The Same As Running 100 Coal-Fired Plants’
- New Paper: Global Warming Leading To HIMALAYAN COOLING, Preventing Glacial Melt!
- DNA Evidence Reveals Domestic Cats, Dogs, African Wildcats, Frogs Lived In The Arctic 9000 Years Ago
- -80°C: Antarctic Vostok Station Records “Extreme Winter Cold”…Not Even Winter Yet!
- The German E-Vehicle Nightmare, 2024 Q1 Sales Plummet 14%… “Graveyard” For Unsold Cars
- Newly Discovered 90,000-Year-Old Human Footprints Reveal How Much Higher Sea Levels Used To Be
Aletho News 
I have had similar negative responses to my FoI requests in the UK. On 10th December 2020, I asked the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency “Why has Ivermectin treatment not been approved by MHRA and included as the preferred protocol for prophylaxis, early, post exposure and severe case treatment for Covid-19?”. I gave some study references including a meta-analysis and stated “There are over 40 trials of Ivermectin that have been published or are underway throughout the world. All of them are indicating 100% effectiveness. Does the MHRA not believe that during a pandemic you should use what works until something better comes along? When is the MHRA going to recommend Ivermectin treatment for COVID-19?”
Their full response is here – https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_miracle_cure_for_covid_19_is#incoming-1723206
LikeLike