Feb 13, 2022
José Antonio Peña Merino, the director of the ADIP [Digital Agency for Public Innovation] and lead author of the analysis, responded to the accusations against him and the other authors by posting a letter stating they are “deeply concerned” about the removal of the paper. In a signed letter, Merino and the other authors say the action is “an indulgence in political innuendo rather than an examination of scientific evidence.” They also complain about the decision to remove the article in response to the Twitter thread by Professor Juan Pablo Pardo-Guerra.
“It’s very obvious that in the United States the simple mention of ivermectin triggers a political and media frenzy,” the letter states. Merino went even further, accusing Cohen of being “colonialist and authoritarian” in withdrawing the article. “It seems to us extremely unethical, colonialist and authoritarian that in the absence of a serious argument, you close a work for political reasons due to the current divisions in your own country.”
The letter from Merino also asks Cohen, “What will you do, sir, with the 148 studies, 97 peer reviewed papers, 78 with results comparing treatment and control groups and in support of ivermectin use since ours was conducted?”, with a list of studies at the end of the letter which Merino says support the case for ivermectin.