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Consumer Health Digest #22-03
January 16, 2022
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H
http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/william-m-london., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D
http://www.quackwatch.org/10Bio/bio.html. It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; news reports; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. Its primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. To subscribe, click here
http://lists.quackwatch.org/mailman/listinfo/chd_lists.quackwatch.org###
License of another vaccination-misinformation promoter suspendedDr. Meryl Nass, an internist who claims that COVID vaccines are ineffective and harmful, has had her license suspended for 30 days by the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine.
The Board has also:
(a) ordered her to undergo a psychological evaluation;
(b) voted unanimously to conduct a further investigation in response to at least two complaints that she was spreading misinformation about COVID-19; and
(c) voted to subpoena records from her.
[Miller K. Ellsworth doctor faces license suspension over COVID misinformation allegations
https://www.mainepublic.org/health/2022-01-11/ellsworth-doctor-faces-license-suspension-over-covid-misinformation-allegations. Maine Public Radio, Jan 11, 2022]
Previously, Dr. Nass admitted to the Board and in a briefing to state lawmakers that she lied about a COVID patient’s condition to get a pharmacist to dispense hydroxychloroquine
https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/therapies/antiviral-therapy/chloroquine-or-hydroxychloroquine-and-or-azithromycin/she had prescribed.
[Mistler S, Miller K. Doctors affiliated with anti-vax groups briefed Maine lawmakers. One faces licensing board scrutiny
https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2021-12-30/doctors-affiliated-with-anti-vax-groups-briefed-maine-lawmakers-one-faces-licensing-board-scrutiny. Maine Public Radio, Dec 30, 2021]
Nass is a consultant to the anti-vaccination organization Children’s Health Defense
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health-pseudoscience/anti-vaccine-propaganda-robert-f-kennedy-jr###
Health experts call on Spotify to moderate misinformation on its platformOver 270 scientists, doctors, nurses, and other health professionals have signed an open letter
https://spotifyopenletter.wordpress.com/2022/01/10/an-open-letter-to-spotify/calling for Spotify to implement a misinformation policy to prevent “the mass-misinformation events which continue to occur on its platform.”
[Yee B. Doctors, scientists petition Spotify to stop ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ COVID-19 misinformation
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/01/14/doctors-scientists-petition-spotify-to-stop-joe-rogan-experience-covid-19-misinformation/. Forbes, Jan 14, 2022]
The letter begins:
On Dec. 31, 2021, the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), a Spotify-exclusive podcast, uploaded a highly controversial episode featuring guest Dr. Robert Malone
https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/jan/06/who-robert-malone-joe-rogans-guest-was-vaccine-sci/ (#1757).
The episode has been criticized
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/01/02/what-is-mass-formation-psychosis-robert-malone-makes-covid-19-vaccine-claims-on-joe-rogan-show/?sh=35939fb71d4cfor promoting baseless conspiracy theories and the JRE has a concerning history
https://www.mediamatters.org/joe-rogan-experience/joe-rogan-wrapped-year-covid-19-misinformation-right-wing-myths-and-anti-transof broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. By allowing the propagation of false and societally harmful assertions, Spotify is enabling its hosted media to damage public trust in scientific research and sow doubt in the credibility of data-driven guidance offered by medical professionals.
JRE #1757 is not the only transgression to occur on the Spotify platform, but a relevant example of the platform’s failure to mitigate the damage it is causing.
Rogan has a history of misleading his audience about COVID-19-related topics.
[Landsverk G. 6 times Joe Rogan promoted COVID-19 misinformation on his podcast
https://www.insider.com/joe-rogan-podcast-episodes-that-spread-covid-misinformation-2022-1. Insider, Jan 15, 2022]
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Spending on ivermectin prescribed for COVID-19 estimatedIvermectin is an anti-parasitic drug sometimes used to treat COVID-19 despite evidence that it is ineffective. Based on a database of insurance claims, researchers have reported:
Wasteful [private insurance and Medicare] spending on these prescriptions, estimated at $2.5 million in the week of August 13, 2021, would extrapolate to $129.7 million annually. For perspective, this total exceeds estimated annual Medicare spending on unnecessary imaging for low back pain, a low-value service that has received extensive attention. The true amount of waste is even higher because estimates did not include Medicaid spending. Moreover, by reducing barriers to a drug that some individuals use as a substitute for COVID-19 vaccination or other evidence-based care, insurance coverage could increase spending for COVID-19 complications.
[Chua K, and others. U.S. insurer spending on ivermectin prescriptions for COVID-19
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2788253. JAMA, Jan 13, 2022]
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Naturopaths’ pediatric laboratory-test orders spotlightedResearchers compared the test-ordering practices of naturopaths (NDs) <https://quackwatch.org/naturopathy/> with those of general practitioners (GPs) from adolescent medicine, family medicine, and pediatric outpatient clinics at Seattle Children’s Hospital during 2018. Key findings included:
*** NDs ordered nearly twice as many tests per patient than did GPs (10.5 vs 5.5 tests per patient).
*** 45% of tests ordered by NDs belonged to three categories: allergens (21.8% of total), trace elements (15.1%), and toxic metals (8.1%). Fewer than 13% of tests ordered by GPs belonged to those same three categories: allergens (7.9%), trace elements (4.4%), and toxic metals (1.1%).
*** NDs ordered more esoteric tests (trace elements/toxic metals, allergens, and vitamins) and had lower rates of abnormal test results compared with GPs.
The researchers concluded that “NDs may not use laboratory tests in the same manner as GPs and may make medical recommendations using different criteria, likely influenced by different laboratory medicine training.”
Drs. London and Barrett believe the data show that NDs in Washington order laboratory tests excessively.
[Liao H and others. Laboratory test ordering patterns in pediatrics from naturopaths and general practitioners
https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/article-abstract/156/5/787/6274451. American Journal of Clinical Pathology 156:787-793, 2021]
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CEO who blocked generic competition banned from drug industryA federal judge has banned Martin Shkreli for life from working in the pharmaceutical industry. The judge also ordered him to disgorge $64.6 million that he earned by hiking the price of the drug Daraprim from $13.50 per pill to $750 per pill in 2015. Daraprim is the only federally approved drug for treating toxoplasmosis. The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission, and several states, including New York and California alleging illegal and monopolistic behavior by Shkreli and Vyera Pharmaceuticals, the company he founded. The judge wrote:
*** Through tight control of the distribution of Daraprim, Shkreli prevented generic drug companies from getting access to enough Daraprim to conduct testing demanded by the Food and Drug Administration.
*** Through exclusive supply agreements, Shkreli also blocked off access to the two most important manufacturers of the active pharmaceutical ingredient for Daraprim.
*** Shkreli delayed the entry of generic competition for at least eighteen months.
*** Shkreli and his companies profited over $64 million from this scheme.
Last month the same government agencies obtained a $40 million settlement from Vyera Pharmaceuticals and a seven-year ban of Shkreli’s former business partner Kevin Mulleady. Shkreli is currently incarcerated for a securities fraud conviction
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/18/appeals-court-upholds-conviction-of-martin-shkreli.htmlthat followed a 2017 federal trial.
[Mangan D. Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli banned for life from drug industry in monopoly case, ordered to pay $64.6 million
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/14/pharma-bro-martin-shkreli-banned-for-life-from-drug-industry-ordered-to-pay-64point6-million.html. CNBC, Jan 14, 2022]
============================
Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
Telephone: (919) 533-6009
http://www.quackwatch.org (health fraud and quackery)
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