20/08/2021
This was especially true early on in the pandemic, when scientists knew a lot less about the virus and it was not clear that a vaccine would appear soon. "All these drugs have legitimate uses, and in all of them there was a piece of evidence that suggested they might work," says Merchan. In a situation defined by its uncertainty, these drugs promised a simple way out – hence their appeal.
This is perhaps the oldest medical marketing trick in the book. Back in Renaissance Italy, town squares were packed with charlatans who sold all kinds of concoctions by exaggerating their therapeutic claims. In a time long before the development of sanctioned, effective medicines for most illnesses, street peddlers could offer a way out of the complexity, says David Gentilcore, a historian in University of Venice Ca’Foscari who has extensively studied charlatans' role in the history of medicine.
