As the pandemic rages on across the US, those who still refuse vaccines have touted the efficacy of several unusual over-the-counter drugs. The latest addition to their growing list of "treatments"? Feminizing hormone replacement therapy (HRT), prescribed for Transgender women during their transition to suppress masculine characteristics. So basically: don't get jabbed, just undergo a medical transition.

Previously, the antiparasitic drug ivermectin and the antimalarial, immunomodulatory hydroxychloroquine have been the main alternatives promoted by anti-vaccine advocates for over-the-counter treatment of COVID-19. Now, with the help of a "team of experts" called the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), a comprehensive list of anything-but-the-vaccines has been formulated for "treatment of the COVID-19 patient."

This includes drugs like spironolactone and finasteride (an anti-androgen), listed in the FLCCC's document, "Overview of the MATH+, I-MASK+ and I-RECOVER Protocols."

Located in section 3.2, "Second Line Treatments," right under B-complex vitamins, the FLCCC states that "androgens augment SARS-CoV-2 infectivity by promoting the expression of transmembrane protease (TMPRSS2) that primes the spike viral entry protein."

Its sources? It first cites a paper that discusses the efficacy of androgen suppression and modulation in preventing prostate cancer metastasis, which never mentions SARS-CoV-2.

It later goes on to cite an Iranian study published in late 2021 about the use of finasteride in critical care patients hospitalized by the virus. A seven-day course of the drug boosted oxygen saturation in the bloodstream of some patients, but "the results did not show significant differences in mortality," read the findings. Nor did it "influence other outcomes."

It appears that overall, the FLCCC's sources do not justify its inclusion of anti-androgen drugs on the list. Perhaps many other substances on the list are incorrectly researched by the organization as well.

These sorts of unproven, reactive measures are being promoted to shorten and minimize COVID-19 infections once they happen, but they do not prevent infection or hinder the spread of the virus like vaccines do.

Meanwhile, the FLCCC protocols are being used in right-wing media to promote "expert advice" on how to survive COVID-19 — not if, but when you are infected.

In a Fox News segment aired on Jan. 10, Dr. Pierre Kory, FLCCC president, pointed to the intricacies of FDA approval processes while explaining the organization's protocols.

"What you're seeing is the product of a system, right? The system is entirely structured, and it's scary how it's structured. It's structured to entirely act within the interests of for-profit pharmaceutical corporations," Kory said.

However, the proven methodologies used by the FDA in drug testing ensure that treatments are both safe and effective for a particular use.

"In some instances, it can be highly dangerous to use a medicine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 that has not been approved by or has not received emergency-use authorization from the FDA," reads the FDA reaction to the popularization of ivermectin to "treat" COVID-19.

These alternative measures show an extreme resistance to vaccines, wherein untested territory is more acceptable than any mainstream solution. Unfortunately, while mainstream methods (vaccines) are consistently proving to be effective at saving lives, people who have advocated for the use of generic drugs, like prominent Q-Anon spokeswoman Veronica Wolski, have ended up dead.

Meanwhile, the right continues its campaign of transphobia across Southern states, pushing felony charges and incarceration for anyone offering medical-transition drugs and surgeries.

A question lingers: how can hormone replacement therapy be available for untested experiments in dire pneumonic circumstances but illegal for their known mechanisms of action?