Although the crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus is not abating and it seems that it will take a long time before medically proven methods to fight against the new strain of the corona virus are verified, we are witnessing that on social networks, but what is even more dangerous, on certain televisions with national frequencies in this context they promote unproven methods and medical means whose effectiveness is extremely doubtful and the result of their application without accompanying clinical studies may have unforeseeable consequences. What is even more worrying is that people who do not have any formal education in the field of medical sciences are increasingly involved in the promotion of the mentioned treatment methods, but because they have access to the media with national coverage, they can mislead and even potentially endanger a large number of people.
Without pretensions to enter into a discussion about the effectiveness of certain treatment methods for the consequences of illness caused by the Covid-19 virus, MASA uses the opportunity to strongly support and with the consent of Professor Slobodan Savić, transmit his post from Facebook regarding the "revolutionary" treatment method promoted by the owner of Pink Television, Željko Mitrović:
"Dear friends, at the moment when the eyes of the entire public, especially people who have been sick with covid-19 and their family members, are completely justified, focused on the plasma treatment of patients who have suffered from this dangerous disease, news has appeared about another "method of treatment ", the placement of which I say in advance represents an extremely immoral act and a potential criminal offense. Two evenings ago, TV "Pink" showed a report about how Željko Mitrović "changes his blood" ie. injects himself with his own blood, which he previously "ozonated" in the apparatus shown in the picture, noting that according to the results of Italian doctors, it gave good results in patients with covid-19. I don't know if I explained the essence of this "epochal discovery" well, but if I didn't succeed, "Informer" did it much better than me, writing that Mitrović is right because the mentioned gas in the blood turns into hydrogen peroxide (hydrogen ) that disinfects blood from viruses and bacteria. To this publicized nonsense (for the sake of decency I avoid the harsher word), all professional medical associations should have reacted at the same time and pointed out to the public that this news is untrue and extremely dangerous, both from a medical and a moral point of view. As far as I know, none of them have come forward yet. Moreover, on the same evening, immediately after that reportage, our three eminent doctors were in the studio of that television and participated in a conversation about that nebulous procedure, its mechanism of action and possible effects. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. There was absolutely no place for those doctors in that show, because with their participation, whether they wanted it or not, they gave credibility to something that is not and will never become a method of treatment. Instead, it all came down to the negative reactions of individuals on social networks, which are certainly good, but unfortunately not very effective. I have several strong arguments for my opinion. The first one refers to the fact that it is about television with a national frequency, which, apart from the purpose of entertainment (which it can do in reality programs), has a professional and moral obligation to communicate only verified news if it is of general social importance, and in these difficult days, better to say weeks, probably even months, there is certainly no more serious and significant news about a possible cure for covid-19. The second, perhaps the most important reason is the extreme immorality of this kind of news, which will certainly raise false hopes of a cure in those suffering from covid-19 and their family members, most of whom are medical laymen, especially if they are ill in a serious and life-threatening condition. It can realistically be expected that our healthcare workers, who are already exposed to superhuman efforts in the fight against the pandemic, will be exposed to new unrealistic requests from patients to apply that "magical life-saving treatment" to them as well. It is a completely understandable reaction of people, but directly caused by the irresponsible behavior of TV "Pink", whose program is obviously widely watched in the country of Serbia. The third argument is that the application of treatment whose effectiveness has not been medically proven and which has not been officially accepted in accordance with the regulations, is a potential criminal offense. Moreover, any treatment, as it is accepted, and especially that which is against the medical profession and science, as in this case the so-called "Blood ozonation", applied by a person who does not have the appropriate professional training for it (and as far as I know, Željko Mitrović does not have one) represents the criminal offense of quackery under Article 254 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia ("Who without the appropriate professional training engages in the treatment or provision of other medical services, shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for up to three years"). The only thing that separates Željko Mitrović from criminal responsibility is that he has not (yet) engaged in providing this medical service to other persons, but that in no way frees him from serious moral responsibility for propagating quackery. What he did is an insult to all healthcare workers who, since the beginning of the pandemic, have been making superhuman efforts to preserve the health and save the lives of their patients, and especially to those who have sacrificed their lives for it. I apologize to everyone for such a long text, instead of which it might have been enough to write just one sentence next to the attached picture: SHAME THAT NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!"
