Dr Vladimir Zelenko Fact Check: Has Dr. Zelenko Successfully Treated Coronavirus Patients?
The Claim In an open letter to Trump dated March 23, 2020, and published online in various locations , Zelenko provided his first batch of assertions to support his treatment regime: I developed the following treatment protocol in the pre-hospital setting and have seen only positive results. […] The rationale for my treatment plan is as follows. […] We know that hydroxychloroquine helps Zinc enter the cell. We know that Zinc slows viral replication within the cell. Regarding the use of azithromycin, I postulate it prevents secondary bacterial infections. These three drugs are well known and usually well tolerated, hence the risk to the patient is low. Since last Thursday, my team has treated approximately 350 patients in Kiryas Joel and another 150 patients in other areas of New York with the above regimen. Of this group and the information provided to me by affiliated medical teams, we have had ZERO deaths, ZERO hospitalizations, and ZERO intubations. In addition, I have not heard of