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Consumer Health Digest #21-42
October 24, 2021

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

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More COVID-19 vaccine-misinformation-promoting physicians spotlighted

A CNN article has exposed the preposterous, dangerous disinformation promoted by:

Internet celebrity physicians Rashid Buttar (who is interviewed in a seven-minute CNN video report), Christiane Northrup, Joseph Mercola, Simone Gold, and Sherri Tenpenny

Annie Bukacek, a practicing physician who serves on the Flathead City-County (Montana) Health Board, which is the local authority on how to manage public health outbreaks such as COVID-19 CNN contacted medical boards in all 50 states. Of the half that responded, only Rhode Island and Oregon said they had disciplined doctors for coronavirus-related misconduct.
[Kuznia R. and others. They take an oath to do no harm, but these doctors are spreading misinformation about the COVID vaccine
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/19/us/doctors-covid-vaccine-misinformation-invs/index.html
. CNN, Oct 20, 2021]

A consent order
https://health.ri.gov/discipline/MDMarkBrody.pdf
from Rhode Island’s board indicates that Mark Brody, M.D., sent a letter advising patients “not to accept the coronavirus vaccine” and warned of “the possibility of sterilizing all females in the population who receive the vaccination.” Oregon suspended Dr. Steven LaTulippe’s license
https://omb.oregon.gov/Clients/ORMB/OrderDocuments/c1d122d1-5459-4d6f-889d-76789c8ee183.pdf
for counseling patients that masks are ineffective for reducing the spread of coronavirus and that COVID-19 is less dangerous than influenza.

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Another “vaccine exemption” provider is disciplined

Sue McIntosh, M.D. of Durham, Connecticut, voluntarily surrendered her medical license two weeks after Connecticut’s licensing board temporarily suspended it. Documents in the case indicate that she sent signed, blank “exemption” forms to people who sent her a stamped self-addressed envelope. The suspension was implemented after an undercover investigator received a set of her forms. McIntosh was board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric oncology and hematology, but her blog states that she retired from practice about 20 years ago due to severe fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis.
[Barrett S. Sue McIntosh loses license for “vaccination exemption” misconduct.
https://quackwatch.org/cases/board/med/sue-mcintosh-loses-license-for-vaccination-exemption-misconduct/
 Casewatch, Oct 24, 2021]


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Cell-based COVID-19 treatment hyperbole denounced.

A recent paper describes:

the many rushed, poorly designed research studies to develop cell-based treatments for COVID-19 as sacrificing rigor for haste, thereby exhibiting signs of “pandemic research exceptionalism”
best practices for responsible scientific communication of COVID-10 therapeutic claims
inaccurate representations made by direct-to-consumer businesses offering cell-based therapies
responses of scientific societies and regulatory agencies to such representations
The authors concluded:

Rushed development and premature commercialization of cell- and gene-based therapeutics for COVID-19 and other respiratory virus infections and hyped communication of related clinical and research findings will inevitably harm the field of regenerative medicine, increase risks to patients, and erode the public’s trust. Evidence-based approaches to developing safe and efficacious cell-based interventions and other medical products remain crucial even amid the challenges and intense pressures of the pandemic
[Turner L and others. Ethical issues and public communication in the development of cell-based treatments for COVID-19: Lessons from the pandemic
https://www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports/fulltext/S2213-6711(21)00481-1
. Stem Cell Reports, Oct 14, 2021]


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Grandma’s Herbs required to stop marketing misbranded dietary supplements

The U.S. District Court for the District of Utah has entered a consent decree of permanent injunction that applies to Grandma’s Herbs, Inc., of St. George, Utah, and the company’s owners Kevin R. Parr and Tracey Parr. In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter
https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/grandmas-herbs-532853-09152017
 to Grandma’s Herbs, Inc. informing the company that many of its products marketed as dietary supplements were considered new and misbranded drugs because they were intended to diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent conditions such as respiratory tract infections, ulcers, heart disease, autoimmune disorders, and epilepsy. The consent decree prohibits Grandma’s Herbs, Inc. from marketing such products until it hires a labeling expert, removes its violative labeling, and receives written permission from the FDA to resume operations.
[Federal judge enters consent decree with Utah-based dietary supplement manufacturer
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/federal-judge-enters-consent-decree-utah-based-dietary-supplement-manufacturer
. FDA news release, Oct 20, 2021]


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Warning about needle-free dermal filler injections

The FDA is warning the public and health care professionals not to use needle-free devices such as hyaluron pens for injection of hyaluronic acid or other lip and facial fillers, which are commonly referred to as dermal fillers or fillers. The FDA is aware of serious injuries and, in some cases, permanent harm to the skin, lips, or eyes with the use of these devices. FDA-approved dermal fillers
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/aesthetic-cosmetic-devices/fda-approved-dermal-fillers
 are indicated for prescription use only.
[Do not use needle-free devices for injection of dermal fillers
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/safety-communications/do-not-use-needle-free-devices-injection-dermal-fillers-fda-safety-communication
. FDA safety communication, Oct 8, 2021]


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Stephen Barrett, M.D.
Consumer Advocate
7 Birchtree Circle, Apt. 703
Chapel Hill, NC 27517

Telephone: (919) 533-6009

http://www.quackwatch.org  (health fraud and quackery)
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