Yet he became something of a folk hero on the right, someone who not only offered hope amid the pandemic, but also an alternative to the medical establishment and to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the Institute. National Allergy and Infectious Diseases Association, who insisted it would take months of research to find an effective treatment.
Dr. Zelenko continued to text and speak with Mr. Meadows, Mr. Giuliani and several members of Congress. But he clashed with Kiryas Joel leaders, who said his speech about treating hundreds of Covid patients gave the impression that the community was overwhelmed by Covid, potentially fueling anti-Semitism.
Over the following months, researchers cast further doubt on the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found no benefit from the treatment, and other studies pointed to a risk of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias in some patients.
These and other findings led the FDA to revoke its emergency clearance on June 15, 2020.
A calm and unassuming man, Dr. Zelenko seemed unprepared for the attention he was receiving, which included harassing phone calls and even death threats. In May 2020, a federal prosecutor opened an investigation into whether he had falsely sought FDA approval for his research.
That same month, Dr. Zelenko announced in a video that he was closing his practice and leaving the Kiryas Joel community. He accused several of his leaders of fomenting a campaign against him.
After the FDA rescinded its approval of hydroxychloroquine as a Covid treatment, he founded a company, Zelenko Labs, to promote other unconventional treatments for the disease, including vitamins and the anti-inflammatory drug quercetin.
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