https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj.o102
Covid-19 vaccines and treatments: we must have raw data, now
In the pages of The BMJ a decade ago, in the middle of a different pandemic, it came to light that governments around the world had spent billions stockpiling antivirals for influenza that had not been shown to reduce the risk of complications, hospital admissions, or death. The majority of trials that underpinned regulatory approval and government stockpiling of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) were sponsored by the manufacturer; most were unpublished, those that were published were ghostwritten by writers paid by the manufacturer, the people listed as principal authors lacked access to the raw data, and academics who requested access to the data for independent analysis were denied.
Yeah, I remember seeing Tamiflu promoted on an episode of Oprah back in the day. Not that I was ever a regular watcher of Oprah... but Big Pharma really knows how to advertise!
I agree the tide has changed, or is now changing, but not only for those reasons you identify. Check out this interview on Bill Maher's show with American journalist Bari Weiss (around 1 minute in):
https://youtu.be/8bQ2rctogOs
She's a good litmus case for the change, I think
People like him need to be weeded out of government. Fat chance that will ever happen though ...
Yeah, I considered hotlinking to the timestamp when Weiss speaks just to skip over him, but in context I think the two perspectives go together nicely. If you watch the whole interview, Torres makes himself look foolish. Maher still reigns supreme with his own version of rationality. Good stuff