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NY Times: COVID-19 Study Retractions in NEJM and The Lancet Raise Alarm Over Rushed Peer Review

Two major COVID-19 studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet were retracted shortly after publication. One study had concluded that popular blood-pressure drugs were safe for COVID-19 patients; the other warned that the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which President Trump had promoted, was dangerous for these patients. Critics suggested that politicization of coronavirus research may have biased the researchers behind the latter study, who wanted to respond quickly to Trump's remarks. Scientists fear the rush to publish coronavirus research is (1) overwhelming the peer-review process, (2) opening the door to fraud, and (3) threatening the credibility of respected medical journals. Studies that once took months to scrutinize and edit are now sometimes reviewed in as little as 48 hours, with critically important findings published online within 20 days of submission. Dr. Peter Jüni, an epidemiology professor at the University of Toronto, told the New York Times the peer-review system is 'at capacity' and 'at risk of failing.'

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Updated 2026-07-11

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