Clinical Study re: Prayer to Combat COVID-19

[Ninshub]

Clinical Study Considers The Power Of Prayer To Combat COVID-19

May 1, 2020
Tom Gjelten

Under the circumstances, a physician in Kansas City wonders whether prayer might make a difference, and he has launched a scientific study to find out.

"It has to be a true supernatural intervention," says Dr. Dhanunjaya Lakkireddy.

A cardiologist at the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute, Lakkireddy is the principal investigator in a clinical trial involving 1000 patients with COVID-19 infections severe enough that they require intensive care.

The four-month study, launched on May 1, will investigate "the role of remote intercessory multi-denominational prayer on clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients," according to a description provided to the National Institutes of Health. Half of the patients, randomly chosen, will receive a "universal" prayer offered in five denominational forms, via Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism. The other 500 patients will constitute the control group. All the patients will receive the standard of care prescribed by their medical providers. Lakkireddy has assembled a steering committee of medical professionals to oversee the study. (...)

There's a 2-minute audio link included or click here to listen to the mp3 on your VLC or other software.

I must admit I find the idea a bit hard to grasp. I know similar tests have been carried out in the past. But for myself, I've (though not religious) prayed for people in the past. In my case there was a personal involvement and sincerity. I'm not sure this can be recreated in an abstract sort of test. Perhaps there are different definitions or meanings of the term 'prayer' which I'm not quite able to comprehend.