A Bahamian woman stricken with COVID-19, praises the controversial drug, hydroxychloroquine.
Priscilla Ferguson says after confirmation of the infection, she sought the drug from her physician after viewing a video by Dr. Stella Immanuel, a Cameroonian based doctor in the United States, who said it cured over 350 COVID of her patients.
A recovering Ferguson says, “It works. That African doctor ain’t crazy. It works. This is called a testimony.”
Ferguson says her physician gave her the okay to use the drug, saying “there is nothing wrong with the drug, it was around for a long time, she and her daughters took the drug at one time and there is no harm in it.”
Use of the drug has been opposed by medical scientists who say it is lethal and ineffective for saving lives.
When President Donald Trump, a proponent of the drug, and his son, Donald Trump Jr, tweeted the video of Dr. Immanuel promoting the drug, it was taken down by Twitter because it contained “false and dangerous information.”
But Ferguson is singing her praises after experiencing a burning sensation in her lungs as a result of the infection.
“I felt a vast difference in my lung. That thing really works. That same hydroxychloroquine.It works. I finished my last dose last night and I’m still feeling good. I don’t feel any burning sensation or anything in my lungs now.”
Ferguson says she believes she contacted the virus from her workplace, so she made contact with her employers to ensure testing and quarantine for any employee who may be unknowingly infected.
Dr. Stella Immanuel shot to fame as President Donald Trump’s favourite doctor after defending use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, to treat the coronavirus.
Dr. Immanuel has become a favourite of Trump after promoting the controversial drug, announcing in a video that she treated nearly 350 infected people with the drug and has seen them totally cured of the virus.
Her position has caught the attention of many Bahamians, after local health officials opposed use of the drug after the death of 14 people as result of the virus. And, as the COVID-19 cases continue to rise daily in the country, focus has returned to use of the drug to assist those affected with the virus.
Standing with other doctors, appearing in Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress at a press conference run by right winged Tea Party Patriots, she along with a group of doctors contested the scientific findings of the controversial pill.
Dr. Immanuel condemned “fake doctors,” stating, “I want to know who’s conducted that study and who’s behind it. Because there is no way I have treat 350 patients and counting and nobody is dead.”
She emphasized that there is no need for masks if doctors treat patients with hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and the antibiotic zithromax.
Trump, a promoter and user of the drug retweeted the video, but it has since been removed by Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for “containing false and dangerous information,” since doctors say it is lethal and is ineffective at saving lives.
Donald Trump Jr, also impressed by Immanuela’s speech, touted the video on Twitter, as ‘a must-watch’.
Dr. Immanuel, though criticized for her stance, remains resolute. In a tweet, she lambaste White House coronavirus adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci. “Fauci you are lying. Americans are dying and you are playing Russian roulette with their lives.”
The deliverance preacher is the pastor of Fire Power Ministries in Houston Texas, which is next door to her clinic. She was born in Cameroon and is reported to have trained in Nigeria between 1984 and 1990, according to a Nigerian daily, PM News.
The 55-year-old mother of three daughters is said to have trained in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1998 as a pediatrician. And she works as a physician at the Rehoboth Medical Center in Katy, just west of Houston, Texas, since October 2019.
On her church’s Facebook page, Dr. Immanuel describes her church as ‘a deliverance, prayer and spiritual warfare ministry’ and describes herself on Twitter as ‘physician, author, speaker, entrepreneur, deliverance minister, God’s battle axe and weapon of war.’
In a video posted in July, Dr. Immanuel preaches about breaking covenant, curses and soul ties. She encourages her congregation to pray covenant breaking prayers, “Whom ever you sleep with, you form covenant with,” she said.
In a video posted in 2013, she speaks about deliverance from ‘spirit husbands and spirit wives,’ in which she claims mardi gras, sexy clothing, rings, congregants sitting under homosexual pastors, and women wearing pants and praying without head coverings, give access for evil spirits to enter a person.
In response to the controversial video about ‘spirit husbands and spirit wives,’ in which she has been highly criticized, Dr. Immanuel says in a tweet, “Yes America! Some need deliverance from demon sperm.”
She told the Daily Beast, “If you need deliverance from these spirits, contact us.”
Despite the criticisms levied against her, Dr. Immanuel has not backed down. Instead, she thanked mainstream media for promoting her ministry which she says are “free commercials.”
“Woah CNN, MSNBC etc are doing free commercials on our deliverance ministry. Fire Power is main stream. Thank you CNN and let me know me know when y’all need some of them demons cast out of you. I will gladly oblige. You will feel a lot better. Keep up the good work,” she tweeted.
Dr. Immanuel appears on a local television broadcast, Beyond the Headlines, on Tuesday at 8pm.
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Photo credit: Godofredo Vásquez, Houston Chronicle
