When it came to Covid treatments, AFLDS promoted the internet flavor of the day, first jumping on the Hydroxychloroquine bandwagon and then adding Ivermectin to their shopping cart of Covid wonders. As long as people were unsure how to treat their Covid symptoms, AFLDS preyed on them, exploiting their fear and lack of knowledge. As soon as I saw Dr. Pierre’s involvement, it piqued my interest, and I decided to dig a little deeper.

Sure enough, there’s a shop!

You can visit the good doctor at his premises in Westlake Village in California if your Botox is flat-lining, or you can visit his website, which, of course, features a shop. Hand-picked products the good doctor assures you are essential to that glowing complexion. He is, as I mentioned, a dermatologist.

I knew his website would contain a shop. It’s a hallmark of the type of “medical” professionals that exploit their positions of trust with their patients to monetize their practices. No big surprise there and while Dr Pierre may in fact be an excellent dermatologist (I have no issue with him practicing his specialty), he is no virologist and definitely not a pharmacologist. In short, he has absolutely no business going around on the internet making ridiculous claims about using medicines off-label.

I cannot speak to the doctor’s motivation in risking his practice by joining AFLDS. His degree indicates a certain level of intelligence and therefore one can only assume his motives are purely financial as his background would be sufficient for him to be able to scientifically evaluate the claims he makes as being false. Ergo, there is financial motivation or grift in the advice he offers.

In the video above, he also employs a typical disinformation tactic of quoting the world Health Organization (WHO) and then attaching a statement as if to attribute it to the WHO. To be clear, the WHO does not endorse either Ivermectin or Suramin as medicines to treat or prevent Covid. Dr Pierre also has claimed that receiving the Covid 19 vaccine will void your life insurance citing a debunked court case in “France, and claims that the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) said that life insurance policies may deny payment for people who die from Covid-19 vaccines.” But, there is no ACLI and there was no French court case.

Either way, the good doctor talks out of his hat. Neither Ivermectin nor Suramin will protect you against developing Covid. Please don’t waste your hard-earned cash buying off-label medicines from AFLDS, spend that money on fresh food and get some exercise. Remember, if you are at risk from Covid, please do get vaccinated. If you are uncertain if you are in an at-risk category, you can read this advice which clearly lays out which diseases and conditions place you at risk.

For stepping out of his professional lane and offering medical advice based on opinion rather than proven medical fact, promoting disinformation surrounding the pandemic, and associating with known grifters, Dr. Pierre has the ignominy of joining our celebrated list of quacks. If it walks like a duck…

The post Another AFLDS Quack, Meet Dr. Peterson Pierre appeared first on Medika Life.

It’s hard to explain exactly why these individuals, people like Christiane Northrup and Michael Yeadon, choose to cast away careers of reasonable repute for the world of conspiracy and anti-establishment propaganda. There are distinct financial gains for many to be made from engaging with this fringe, popularity, notoriety, and an opportunity to finger your nose at the establishment.

Perhaps Cahill feels she was worked over by the system, ignored, passed over for promotion, or simply sidelined. Perhaps her ambitions could not be matched by the environment she found herself in? Whatever the reason, she didn’t just jump off the sane scientist ledge, she literally leaped and has spiraled downwards ever since in a free fall of alternate health mumbo jumbo, pseudoscience, and pure fabrication. 

This article will examine the collapse of her career and her statements that led to it. We’ll provide proper context and expose the complete fabrications she has engineered in her efforts to discredit the pandemic and expose the public to heightened risk.

Who is Dolores Cahill?

According to a yet to be updated webpage on Researchgate Cahill is a Professor of Translational Science, School of Medicine & Principal Investigator at the Conway Institute, University College of Dublin. On March the 18th of this year, the Irish Times published an article confirming that Cahill had been relieved of her teaching position. 

Another article, shortly on the heels of the 1st one announced a few days later that Cahill had also resigned as leader of the Irish Freedom Party, no doubt ousted by party loyalists to the party with no taste for Cahill’s conspiracy theories and medical misinformation.

In June of 2020, Cahill was asked to resign from a high-profile EU scientific committee. In an hour-long interview with a popular alt-right activist on May 10th in the same year, which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times, she promised to “debunk the narrative” of the pandemic. The European Commission said the claims made by Cahill, a professor of translational medicine in UCD, could cause “significant harm” if taken literally.

Her credentials are impeccable. She was widely recognized as a renowned expert in high-throughput proteomics technology development and automation, high content protein arrays, and their biomedical applications, including in biomarker discovery and diagnostics. Cahill pioneered this research area at the Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany, and she holds several international patents in this field with research, biomedicine, and diagnostic applications.

So where did it all go so horribly wrong?

The beginning of the end for Dolores Cahill

In 2017 there was already evidence that Dolores Cahill was having problems. A scientific journal retracted a study in which she was listed as a co-author. The 2016 paper was retracted after receiving criticism from outside researchers who raised concerns about its methodology and data.

The paper shares multiple authors with another paper that linked the vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV) to behavioral problems in mice. Last year, a journal removed the study; later that year, the authors published a revised version in another journal. The retracted paper focused on the antibodies present in a form of lupus. The can read more on the topic here.

A statement made by Cahill in February of 2020 starts to give one a clearer indication of why her research may have been deemed, suspect. She has an agenda. She has an anti-vaccine agenda. In here own words, she claimed;

I Entered Politics Because The Schools Mandated Vaccines For Children — 3 Feb 2021

Dolores Cahill

It’s all been a pretty steep downhill ride for the professor, since she chose to go public with a number of misleading Covid revelations she continued to repeat in 2020, including that the vaccines were going make everyone ill and that there was no pandemic. We had all been lied to and simple treatment like hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) was going to save us if only the government would allow us access. Sorry Ms. Cahill, but on all scores, wrong. Fantastically wrong. 

On HCQ more than enough research exists to show it may only assist a small fraction of people, and then only marginally. It’s no miracle cure and it sure as hell isn’t a prophylactic. On the question of no pandemic, I’d recommend dropping Ms. Cahill in the middle of New Dehli and then watch her try and peddle her bullshit to hundreds of thousands of infected Indians. On the vaccine score, according to Cahill, millions should have died by now from these “dangerous vaccines” yet, strangely this hasn’t happened.

The truth is, for whatever the reasons, that Dolores Cahill is deluded. She may very well believe the untruths she is sprouting and may not even be motivated by grift, but her associations with anti-vaxxers across the globe and her rapid adoption into their ranks as one of their own, clearly shows where her loyalties lie. Loyalties that are most certainly no longer with evidence-based science. 

Evidence Cahill’s use of Del Bigtree, the conspiracy king of Youtube, to get her message out. This is a pattern we see repeated across the anti-vaxx clan hood, where individuals like Bigtree and Robert F. Kennedy, Jnr. offer up their platforms to promote views that resonate and reinforce their own warped views of medicine and health, 

Cahill is clearly willing to go to any lengths to endorse her own views on vaccines and is not averse to exposing the public to risk. She should be considered untrustworthy, a danger to public health and we strongly advise anyone against listening to her advice. History tends to be far more forgiving, than the scientific community. a fact Ms. Cahill would do well to remember.

The post Prof Dolores Cahill is the Latest Quack to Commit Career Suicide appeared first on Medika Life.

We know the levels of devotion Bush elicits, as his supporters continuously spam us with hate and righteous indignation.

Examining Zach Bush’s Health Cult

I wrote an article back in January of this year on Dr. Zack Bush, in which I categorized him as a quack, a new age one, but a quack nonetheless, based on many of his views. We won’t be listing links in this article unless they are to claims or statements we make. Bush receives enough promotion without having to rely on us.

The danger for all doctors, and even Dr. Bush is aware of this, is that no matter how much good you do, and I am certain he manages in his own way to achieve some good, jeopardizing the life of any patient, even one, with advice that negatively impacts the patient’s health and choice of care, is considered a cardinal medical sin.

To the extent that any good you may have in fact managed to achieve, can simply be set aside in an instant, negated by the damage, however co-incidental, of your misplaced advice. Such, I believe is the fate suffered by Zach Bush and all that is still open to debate is whether his preaching is based on misplaced belief or intentional deception.

In fairness to his very vocal and at times, insanely belligerent supporters, we decided to re-examine my earlier assessment of the good doctor. I’m saddened to say the indictment stands, and if anything, is now more pronounced.

The main problem posed by Zach Bush

A lot of what Bush proclaims is in fact true and I can easily find myself in agreement with some of his statements. I’ve even highlighted a few of these below to try and produce a more balanced overview of the man. There is however an incredibly important distinction that needs to be drawn early into this article, and if as a supporter of the man and his views, you’re not willing to concede the following, then this article most certainly won’t appeal to you.

If however, you remain open to logical and reasonable debate, let’s press ahead.

So to that distinction. Uttering truths some of the time, halfbaked or otherwise, does not mean I must or should interpret everything else you utter to be the gospel truth. Where health and wellness are concerned, especially our own health, we need to remain critical of everything we’re told. This statement doesn’t merely apply to the utterances of Zach Bush, it’s applicable across every sphere of healthcare, modern or alternate. 

Health is not a religion of blind faith, it is a scientific study of the processes and diseases that affect our physiology, an effort to understand these processes, and where possible, to master them.

The problem, as I see it with Zach Bush, is that he manipulates the truths he professes to earn the undying and unquestioning loyalty of his followers. It’s an unhealthy position for any person to enjoy, irrespective of their chosen profession. It is the same failed logic that fuels the blind pursuit of religion and it most certainly has no place in healthcare.

It’s also a position Bush does nothing to discourage and it exposes the people who buy into his new-age vision of healthcare to complete and utter exploitation. 

Let’s examine a few of the controversial statements he’s made of late.

Zach Bush on the mitochondria

Bush believes that the root of all chronic diseases can be traced to the malfunctioning of the mitochondria in our cells. In a roundabout way, there is some scientific validation to this statement, as emerging science, documented in various journals, confirms the active involvement of mitochondria in many, but not all diseases. Note the use of the word INVOLVEMENT.

It is a very simple matter to quote this science to your millions of followers. Making the jump or inference, however, from “associated with” to “responsible for all” is where the wheels come off.

There is zero scientific evidence to back this claim. Absolutely not one shred and I challenge anyone reading this to produce it, including Bush if he happens across this piece. It’s a childish logic flaw, which Bush has exploited to legitimize his theories. You may as well call out the nostrils as being responsible for all disease. Every human has them and they’ve been noted in all cases of disease therefore they must be to blame.

None of the scientific literature suggests that mitochondria are at the root of all diseases. They are merely present and play a role. So are the nostrils.

Zach Bush on Germ Theory

The entirety of Bush’s germ theory rests on a common false construct, that in many ways is reminiscent of the anti-vaxx campaigner’s insistence that the MMR vaccine causes autism. The MMR fallacy has been proven to be a fabrication concocted by Dr. Andrew Wakefield (now thankfully banned from practicing medicine) to promote his own vaccine in place of the MMR.

Germ denialism has been proven to be complete nonsense and Bush’s insistence that the viral and bacterial worldsare not to blame for disease and infections boggles the mind.

Here’s a fact to kick us off. Viruses, bacteria, and parasites of all sorts are very real, can very much cause disease and do. Ask anyone in India currently battling for breath from a Covid infection what their opinions on viruses are. 

According to Bush, they’ve all brought it on themselves. If he is in fact so sure that viruses and bacteria are not the cause of disease, why does he pursue antibiotics and pesticides so aggressively, falsely labeling, for instance, the pesticide glyphosate (a synthetic compound which is a nonselective systemic herbicide, particularly effective against perennial weeds) as an antibiotic, which it most certainly is not?

The glyphosate is an interesting case in point so let’s stay with that for a moment. Why would Bush describe it as an antibiotic? It is simply a lack of understanding on his part and poor research. Licensing of the compound was based on its antimicrobial properties, which allowed it to include the category of antibiotic during the licensing process, increasing access to funds for later research.

The product works by impacting the Shikimate pathway in plants, a mechanism absent in mammals and humans. While it may exhibit antimicrobial properties in plants, glyphosate cannot be classified as an antibiotic. It’s an easy mistake to make and the result of sloppy research. 

So rather than killing us, according to Bush, viruses exist merely to update our genetic software. They are innocent and innocuous messengers of genetic code, life’s happy little programmers. If you happen to fall ill it’s the fault of pesticide manufacturers and antibiotics that have corrupted your system’s ability to be happy and healthy. This absolute drivel, particularly given the current pandemic, doesn’t even justify a response.

Pasteur provided ample evidence in support of his germ theory, as did Koch after him, and thousands of microbiologists following in their footsteps, to the point where the germ theory of disease is as established as the theory of evolution, plate tectonics, and a round planet (no, its not flat, unless of course Bush proclaims it to be) that revolves around a stationary sun. To me, the most simple deconstruction of this nonsense idea is to be found in the remote jungles of South America.

Tribes previously unknown to man were discovered in the course of the 1900s by explorers venturing into previously inaccessible portions of South America’s jungles. These tribes had no prior exposure to modern-day toxins or antibiotics, living a life of complete isolation. Contact with outsiders soon decimated their villages as they died in large numbers, stricken by viruses and bacteria they had never previously encountered. An unwelcome and unintended gift shared by the explorers. Viruses kill, bacteria kill, no matter your health status or toxicity levels. 

No doubt, had Bush been around, he would have saved the unfortunate villagers with a tonic and a little positive earth energy.

Zach Bush is the not anti, anti-vaccinist

Bush is outspoken about the covid vaccine and you’re unlikely to find his converts queueing outside the local covid vaccination center, patiently awaiting their shot. A far more likely course of action for his followers is the path he so disingenuously guides them down. Purchasing his products and following his advice in the hopes of boosting their immune systems. Here’s a news flash for converts of the Zach Bush Church of Health.

Under the right circumstances, the coronavirus will kill you, irrespective of your immune system. You can be a yoga monk perched among the rocks in the Himalayas or an Olympic athlete. If you have an undiagnosed physiological condition, are in an at-risk category, or possess a genetic predisposition towards Covid (these are documented) then it’s got your ticket punched. All the immunity, Youtube video’s and supplements in the world aren’t going to save you, but the vaccine probably will. At least, you’ll give your body a fighting chance.

Zach Bush on Autism

Autism is possibly the most used and abused condition by alternate health gurus and quacks. As modern medicine has come up pretty much empty-handed, opportunists seize on this to offer up their own theories and treatments, and while I am not discounting the possibility that someone, somewhere may have identified the actual root cause of autism, I doubt it’s Bush.

I also seriously question the wisdom of him offering an opinion on the disease if he fails to understand the simple concept of passive immunity, that mothers pass on their immunity to their newborn children, who benefit from it after birth, allowing their little bodies time to develop their own defenses. They arent “perfectly balanced against disease and organisms” as Bush ridiculously claims, they are in fact sporting mom’s immunity.

I would be more than a little cautious in even entertaining Bush for an instant on the topic of autism. 

Generations of scientists, far better qualified than Dr. Bush, have been examining autism for decades. The fact their research is only now starting to yield marginal success in understanding the disease doesn’t entitle Bush to share insights possibly obtained from a spiritual interlude with a tree.

Particularly when that advice may lead a very vulnerable sector of the community to begin experimenting on their children based on his ramblings. His reference to the runaway incidence of autism is also complete nonsense. We’ve dealt with that before and you can refer to our older article on him.

The Health Cult Lives

We are sorry to dash the hearts and minds of thousands across the globe, ardent supporters who latch onto Zach Bush’s every word but the facts, if viewed objectively, are damning in their conclusion. Dr. Bush is a quack par excellence, a gifted and highly intelligent orator and businessman who has lost the plot, either intentionally or through a firm belief in the deluded principles he espouses.

It’s hard to imagine that someone boasting his education would follow his current course out of mistaken beliefs, but we will allow him the benefit of the doubt.

Either way, with con artists and grifters, there are always financial rewards, and Bush masks his monetization strategies behind his clinics, websites, therapeutic courses, and health products he markets to his eager flock. It is, as I’ve noted before, the slickest of slick operations, carefully orchestrated and flawlessly executed.

In many ways, Bush has perfected the alternative health scam, connecting health and the environment in a seamless package he pawns incessantly to his followers, and I am certain aspiring quacks look to his model for inspiration. His work is littered with trending catchphrases, ideas like “optimize your gut brain”, “gut brain connection”, “natural ancient soil extracts”, “regenerative agriculture” and “soil extracts that work’. The eco-health warrior has arrived.

Where real solid science is concerned, however, Bush has long since parted company with it. It no longer serves his purpose, other than to selections of choice misrepresentations, abused for the sake of validating his lie. While he may not be the most ethical doctor we’ve ever encountered, he’d make one hell of a poker player. Watch your wallets!

Zach Bush, MD, images are all used in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, and increase public health knowledge.

The post Worshiping at The Alter of Zach Bush’s Messianic Health Cult appeared first on Medika Life.

If you’re not sure how our Quack Scale works, click here for a detailed explanation

Qualification: Wakefield studied medicine at St Mary’s Hospital Medical School (now Imperial College School of Medicine), fully qualifying in 1981. He became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1985.

Current Licensing Status: In 2010 Wakefield was permanently stripped of his right to practice medicine in the United Kingdom by the British General Medical Council

Resident: USA

Existing Complaints: None. Wakefield fortunately no longer practices medicine and is not licensed in the US

Website: None

Corruption and deceit exposed

Andrew Wakefield is the disgraced British doctor who fabricated evidence, published in the respected medical journal The Lancet in 1998, to make a link between the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine and autism in young children, triggering a worldwide panic about the safety of vaccination. To explain this in more depth, I’ll reference large sections of an article written by Decca Aitkenhead of the Weekend Australian. You can access the full article here and it is an excellent read, providing insight into Wakefield’s personality and motivations.

The falsified paper

Wakefield claimed that, by an uncanny coincidence, 12 unrelated sets of parents from all over the country had independently brought their child to see him. According to the paper, parent after parent had told him a ­chillingly similar story: within 14 days — and in some cases within hours — of receiving the MMR vaccine, their hitherto developmentally normal child was displaying symptoms of severe autism. The truth of what actually transpired was vastly different from Wakefield’s initial claims.

What Wakefield had concealed from his ­colleagues, including co-authors of the paper, was that these parents had been referred to him by a personal injury lawyer with whom he was secretly working. Wakefield was essentially running a ­litigation factory at the Royal Free, fabricating ­evidence for a class-action suit against the MMR vaccine. He was receiving a fortune in funding for his “research” from the lawyer, thanks to the Legal Aid Board. And he stood to profit from his research’s conclusion that separate jabs for measles, mumps, and rubella were a safer alternative to the combined MMR, since he was busy patenting his own single-shot measles vaccine.

Most of this information would have remained hidden and Wakefield may very well have escaped detection had it not been for a journalist, Brian Deer, who smelled a rat and pursued Wakefield remorselessly. Wakefield then made a strategic blunder deciding to sue Deer unsuccessfully, for libel. In the end, this action proved his undoing. The court case gave Deer access to the confidential records of the patients involved and it was easily determined that some of the children had indeed displayed symptoms long before they were vaccinated and in some cases, months after.

The Charismatic Conman

To understand how Wakefield could survive the consequences of public embarrassment and humiliation and thrive in the face of his self-inflicted adversity, it’s worthwhile understanding the man himself. He is as charismatic as he is deceptive and his charms have stood him in good stead, allowing him to call on the support of women in various roles throughout his life. His game plan of painting himself as the victim of institutional crucifixion has paid handsome dividends, enabling him to mislead one person after another.

Among the supportive donors who encouraged Wakefield’s US revival after his flight from the UK, Chicago lawyer ­Elizabeth Birt, who raised the money for him to start a new life and sponsored his US visa, wealthy horsewoman Troylyn Ball, and Jane Johnson of the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical family; Ball and Johnson set him up in a $280,000-a-year job created just for him. In November 2017, at an anti-vaccine event in Florida, Wakefield was introduced to Elle Macpherson. The rest, as they say, is history.

Wakefield has turned himself into vaccine medicine’s self-styled martyr claiming he was silenced by the British establishment for exposing the “truth”. Its been a massively successful strategy. The 63-year-old conman is now feted by conspiracy theorists and anti-vaxxers alike. He was a guest at ­Donald Trump’s inauguration ball and enjoys close relationships with Robert F Kennedy Jnr, Del Bigtree, and the autism anti-vaxxer, Polly Tommey, one of his first ‘disciples’.

For a far more detailed analysis of Wakefield’s life, click here

Why Wakefield lost his medical license

After a painfully thorough three-year investigation, the British General Medical Council (GMC) uncovered shocking aspects of Wakefield’s abuse of his medical credentials and position that left them in no doubt as to their course of action. Wakefield was stripped of his right to practice medicine in the United Kingdom.

Charges leveled at Wakefiled suggested he;

• Was being paid to conduct the study by solicitors representing parents who believed their children had been harmed by MMR
• Ordered investigations “without the requisite pediatric qualifications” including colonoscopies, colon biopsies and lumbar punctures (“spinal taps”) on his research subjects without the approval of his department’s ethics board and contrary to the children’s clinical interests, when these diagnostic tests were not indicated by the children’s symptoms or medical history.
• Act[ed] dishonestly and irresponsibly in failing to disclose … how patients were recruited for the study
• Conduct[ed] the study on a basis not approved by the hospital’s ethics committee.
• Purchased blood samples — for £5 each — from children present at his son’s birthday party, which Wakefield joked about in a later presentation.
• Showed callous disregard for any distress or pain the children might suffer

On 28 January 2010, the GMC ruled against Wakefield on all issues, stating that he had “failed in his duties as a responsible consultant”, acted against the interests of his patients, and “dishonestly and irresponsibly” in his controversial research. On 24 May 2010, he was struck off the United Kingdom medical register. It was the harshest sanction that the GMC could impose, and effectively ended his career as a doctor. In announcing the ruling, the GMC said that Wakefield had;

 “brought the medical profession into disrepute,” and no sanction short of erasing his name from the register was appropriate for the “serious and wide-ranging findings” of misconduct

On the money front

• In December 2006, Deer released records obtained from the Legal Services Commission, showing that it had paid £435,643 in undisclosed fees to Wakefield for the purpose of building a case against the MMR vaccine. Those payments, The Sunday Times reported, had begun two years before the publication of Wakefield’s fraudulent paper inThe Lancet. Wakefield had failed to disclose these payments.
• Wakefield applied for a patent on a single-jab measles vaccine before his campaign against the MMR vaccine, raising questions about his motives. Deer discovered this application, despite assurances from Wakefield’s attorneys that no such application was lodged.
• Wakefield also, according to court documents, improperly or dishonestly lent his reputation to the International Child DevelopmentResource Centre, which promoted to very vulnerable parents expensive products for whose efficacy (as he knew or should have known) there was no scientific evidence. No mention is made of money here, but it was clearly a quid pro quo arrangement.

Experimenting on vulnerable children

This is perhaps the most repulsive part of Wakefield’s past and points to an individual with complete disregard for human life, someone woefully unsuited to a career in medicine or in any field relating to public health.

• An extension of his project caused life-threatening complications in one child, who received substantial compensation in an out-of-court settlement. You can read the full article here, written by Rachel Ellis Ellis and published 10 December 2007. “£500,000 for boy left fighting for life after being used as MMR guinea pig”
• As mentioned, evidence he himself validated emerged that he had “bought blood” at £5 a turn from children attending his son’s birthday party.
• Other instances exist of unsanctioned procedures he performed, these can readily be googled.

Dishonest or deluded?

Without a doubt, calculatingly dishonest. The level of manipulation and fraud involved with Wakefield’s fictitious paper are a clear indicator he was under no illusions induced by poor research but wilfully intended to support his own preconceived narrative for personal gain. A few of the lies identified in the paper included the following.

• Three of nine children reported with regressive autism did not have autism diagnosed at all. Only one child clearly had regressive autism; 
• Despite the paper claiming that all 12 children were “previously normal”, five had documented preexisting developmental concerns; 
• Some children were reported to have experienced first behavioral symptoms within days of MMR, but the records documented these as starting some months after vaccination; 
• In nine cases, unremarkable colonic histopathology results — noting no or minimal fluctuations in inflammatory cell populations — were changed after a medical school “research review” to “non-specific colitis”; 
• The parents of eight children were reported as blaming MMR, but 11 families made this allegation at the hospital. The exclusion of three allegations — all giving times to onset of problems in months — helped to create the appearance of a 14-day temporal link; 
• Patients were recruited through anti-MMR campaigners, and the study was commissioned and funded for planned litigation.

In a statement from British Medical Journal (BMJ) editors, this conclusion;

A great deal of thought and effort must have gone into drafting the paper to achieve the results he wanted: the discrepancies all led in one direction; misreporting was gross. Moreover, although the scale of the GMC’s 217 day hearing precluded additional charges focused directly on the fraud, the panel found him guilty of dishonesty concerning the study’s admissions criteria, its funding by the Legal Aid Board, and his statements about it afterwards.

Deer also further reported, based on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, that Wakefield — in partnership with the father of one of the boys in the study — had planned to launch a venture on the back of an MMR vaccination scare that would profit from new medical tests and “litigation driven testing”.

Wakefield predicted he “could make more than $43 million a year from diagnostic kits” for the new condition, autistic enterocolitis, he was set upon creating. According to Deer’s report in BMJ, the ventures, Immunospecifics Biotechnologies Ltd and Carmel Healthcare Ltd — named after Wakefield’s wife — failed after Wakefield’s superiors at University College London’s medical school gave him a two-page letter stating the following;

We remain concerned about a possible serious conflict of interest between your academic employment by UCL, and your involvement with Carmel … This concern arose originally because the company’s business plan appears to depend on premature, scientifically unjustified publication of results, which do not conform to the rigorous academic and scientific standards that are generally expected

It is impossible to come away from all this damning evidence without forming the following opinion. Far from being a victim of ‘establishment ire’ as Wakefield would have you believe, it is clear that he is in fact exactly the opposite.

Andrew Wakefield is a cold, calculating con artist with a medical degree. He willfully misled the public, has endangered thousands of children’s lives by casting doubt on vaccines, and has manipulated his environment and everyone in his immediate sphere of influence for his own personal, financial gain. As unpleasant a person as one could hope to cross paths with and we owe Brian Deer a great deal of gratitude for the copious time and effort he has invested in exposing the real Andrew Wakefield.

To those who choose to associate with Wakefield, I would urge caution. The truth has a nasty habit of turning on those who choose to ignore it and if you’re sitting around the pool sipping martini’s with Mr. Wakefield, you’ve chosen to ignore it or you are simply no better than he.

Vaxxed, or ‘How to profit from deception’

Assert something over and over in public and it must be true, even if it is glaringly apparent it isn’t. It’s a page right out of Donald Trump’s playbook and a tactic Wakefield has combined with his charismatic personality. Had he been born in America, Wakefield could very well have ended up on the next Republican ticket, such is the extent of his ability to deflect, obfuscate and manipulate the truth for his own personal and financial gain.

Vaxxed, released in 2016 was Wakefield’s first attempt to take things up a notch, having built a circle of relative protection around himself in his adopted homeland. He turned to Polly Tommey, one of his most devout disciples and fervent supporters, to appear in the video. She had followed closely on Wakefield’s heels, abandoning the UK for American soil and by no small coincidence, was also located in Texas. Tommey was ably supported in the movie by fellow anti-vaxxers, a complete list is shown below.

Vaxxed is a pseudoscience propaganda documentary film alleging a cover-up by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a purported link between the MMR vaccine and autism. The film was supposed to debut at the Tribeca Film festival but was withdrawn by the festival organizers. Indiewire said in a review of the film at the time;

“Wakefield doesn’t just have a dog in this fight; he is the dog”

The film was produced by Autism Media Channel, of which Wakefield is a director. Unsurprisingly, Del Bigtree was listed as a producer. After the film was dropped from the Tribeca Film Festival, it was picked up for distribution by Cinema Libre. The film premiered at the Angelika Film Center in New York City on April 1, 2016 to an audience of “a few dozen. There are multiple reliable online resources that discredit the movie, highlighting the obvious deception and bare-faced lies it offers by way of storyline. You can read more on that here and here.

Perhaps the best reason not to watch this propaganda rubbish is best encapsulated by this fantastic ani-flyer produced by Dawn Pederson and shown below. You can download this as a PDF here. Vaxxed should be seen for exactly what it is. A pathetic attempt by Wakefield to revive his failing fortunes and his stooges and lackeys that assist him so willingly will live to regret it. Ask his previous research assistants.

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to Brian Deer for his tireless efforts to ensure the truth about Andrew Wakefield was revealed. He has released a book on the sordid case entitled ‘The Doctor who fooled the world’. Brian’s website can be found here

Andrew Wakefield’s images are all used in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, and increase public health knowledge.

The post Andrew Wakefield, the ultimate medical con on Medika’s Quack Scale appeared first on Medika Life.

His latest trending conspiracy tirade is apparently drawn from a very obtuse and mysterious organization he has dubbed the German Corona Investigative Committee. comprising himself and other unnamed members. The document he has produced is an epic 12 pager, a War and Peace sized missive, the nature, and composition of which, would almost certainly have turned Tolkien green with envy. You can view the document here.

At its root, the document is this, nothing more, nothing less. A cleverly constructed fabrication of wishful thinking, clever turns of phrase, and willful manipulation and misinterpretation of the facts to arrive at a conclusion that is so far removed from reality as to give concern for the author’s sanity. 

Fact-Checking Fuellmich’s Fairy Tale

We deal on a regular basis with the fringe of healthcare, the kooks and quacks selling their own brand of self-appointed health poisons and potions. There is a certain predictability about the channels these individuals use to amplify their brand of crazy and Fuellmich is no different. It’s the first flag we look for and it usually signals an idea or opinion that is so far removed from reality that no one else dares touch it.

Conspiracy websites and the alt-health sector adopt these individuals as their own, which is helpful, as they singlehandedly do more to discredit them than any other source. Play with the nutters and you give up your seat at the sane table for good.

Let’s look at a few of the statements Fuellmich makes and then later we’ll take a closer look at the man. We’ve cherry-picked bits, so don’t worry, your eyes aren’t going to bleed from sustained exposure to bullshit. Rather than picking apart his entire tale, we’d like to show you how he has crafted his fiction and the tools he relies on to appear convincing and authoritative. 

His small statements are made without a shred of supporting evidence, but they are made in a matter-of-fact way that suggests to the reader they ought to know these “facts”. Here is an example and we’ve highlighted parts of the text for emphasis.

Now let’s take a look at the current actual situation regarding the virus’s danger, the complete uselessness of PCR tests for the detection of infections, and the lockdowns based on non-existent infections.

His use of the word “actual” indicates your perception of reality has been flawed and he is about to set you straight. PCR testing is trashed without a shred of supporting evidence and next, he suggests there aren’t any infections. Hey folks, people haven’t been dying, not from Covid anyway.

These statements on their own don’t look dramatic and we are therefore inclined not to seek validation for them, but they begin to paint a picture in the reader’s mind and thus lend credibility to the rest of the narrative. The author uses this tactic remorselessly throughout, building on it as he progresses. Small lies and falsehoods, interspersed with facts to lend credence.

The whole article is a crock of horseshit as anyone intimately involved with the pandemic for the last 12 months can attest to. Ask someone who has been seriously ill with Covid if they think it’s regular flu.

We have a skilled and unscrupulous lawyer in Fuellmich who is painting a picture to the jury (us) of something he wants to sell us. We’ll examine possible motives for his sales pitch at the end of the article. 

A word of clarification: in Bergamo, the vast majority of deaths, 94% to be exact, turned out to be the result not of Covid-19, but rather the consequence of the government deciding to transfer sick patients, sick with probably the cold or seasonal flu, from hospitals to nursing homes in order to make room at the hospitals for all the Covid patients, who ultimately never arrived.

An amazingly exact figure (94%) and very confusing considering the ample evidence that now exists to support the fact that most Italian areas and Bergamo was no exception, were underreporting Covid deaths. Don’t take my word for it, here is conclusive proof. Also, given the 228% (you’re not the only one that can do it mate) increase in deaths compared to 2019, I think Italians could safely assume they weren’t dealing with influenza.

Fuellmich may want to avoid booking a holiday on Lake Como. Accusing the Italians of murdering their own people may not be the best way to ensure a harmonious EU brotherhood. In his defense though, he has set about trying to piss off everyone equally. Literally, no one is spared in his 12-page tantrum. This next exert is my favorite.

However, as autopsies have shown, which were carried out in Germany in particular, by the forensic scientist Professor Klaus Püschel in Hamburg, the fatalities he examined had almost all been caused by serious pre-existing conditions, and almost all of the people who had died at a very old age, just like in Italy, meaning they had lived beyond their average life expectancy.

So exactly how many bodies did the good Professor Püschel hack up for his research? You see if we choose to believe Fuellmich then there wouldn’t, according to his view of events, have been that many bodies. Hardly enough to form a solid opinion from anyway, so Fuellmich has, without realizing it, just locked his tale in with Schroedinger’s cat. Fuellmich’s Paranoia Puzzle. 

Let’s revert back to the real world and the totally ridiculous conclusion he draws. Influenza doesn’t kill people, it’s the infections that get you, Even someone as lacking in medical knowledge as Fuellmich appears to be, would know this. Covid is no different. Show me a person who has died of Covid and I’ll show you Elvis’s latest concert itinerary.

Lungs collapse or simply gum up, fatal blood clots form, hearts stop and the list goes on. That’s what kills you. Covid was simply driving the car. The older you are the more likely you are to suffer from some or other dodgy organ, stuff stops working and wears out. I’d also be interested to know why Professor Püschel didn’t investigate younger fatalities? Did he. and Fuellmich just conveniently avoids mentioning them, or did the Professor have an agenda, much like Fuellmich?

The last extract is simply to show you the depths to which this waste of flesh is willing to stoop in order to further his cause. 

there are numerous credible reports that doctors and hospitals worldwide had been paid money for declaring a deceased person a victim of Covid-19 rather than writing down the true cause of death on the death certificate, for example a heart attack or a gunshot wound

See those highlighted words? He’s at it again. Where are these “numerous credible” reports you’re referring to Mr. Fuellmich. Please produce them. Otherwise, it is my sincere hope that while on holiday at Lake Como. you take ill, and that your attending Italian surgeon is intimately familiar with your article. Best of luck. 

Not satisfied with merely insulting the memories of those who have lost their lives to Covid, Fuellmich reaches out to the doctors and healthcare providers as well, accusing them of falsifying death reports. The man is truly a piece of work.

What motivates Fuellmich?

That’s a difficult question to answer. His rise to infamy really began in 2020, and one crazy covid related headline after the next has kept him in the alternate media eye since then. This latest effort will almost undoubtedly not be his last. It may simply be that he craves the spotlight and notoriety and enjoys the media attention. 

Weird we know, but sometimes the simplest explanations are the ones we miss and nothing in the alternate universe that Fuellmich occupies smacks of normalcy. Perhaps in recognition of the danger he poses, most mainstream media have avoided amplifying his rubbish and generally shun him. As stated earlier, he survives off the charity of conspiracy websites and alternate health platforms, without whom he would just be another conspiracy nutcase pissing into the wind.

What is at once apparent is that the Department of Justice and FDA will have renewed interest in Herr Fuellmich and if they don’t, we can assure you we intend to make them painfully aware of him. His efforts to spread misinformation on the virus and create a climate of distrust in the public mind compromises public health and the healthcare industry. 

But wait, isn’t he German? Yes, he is, but he proudly brags of being licensed to practice law in the State of California. According to the State Bar of Califonia website, they hold the following information on Fuellmich.

Reiner Fuellmich #165532

License Status: Active

A new deconstruction of Reiner Fuellmich’s Fairy Tale is available here

We’ve added a new document that exposes all the glaring holes in the fiction that Fuellmich has cobbled together. You can read it here.

The post We Call Out Reiner Fuellmich as a Fraud. The Covid Conspirator Investigated appeared first on Medika Life.

If you’re not sure how our Quack Scale works, click here for a detailed explanation

Qualification: Medical, Osteopathic, or Podiatric School, University Of Colorado Health Sciences Center School Of Medicine – Denver CO. Graduated: 2002. Internal Medicine,MD – Charlottesville, VA USA, Residency Completed: 2005. Bush is currently certified in only one discipline, that of Internal Medicine: Hospice & Palliative Medicine.

Current Licensing Status: Licenced to practice in Virginia by the Virginia Medical Board, License# 0101239018. You can check his current status here

Resident: Charlottesville , VA

Existing Complaints: None listed in a professional capacity.

Website: zachbushmd.com, intrinsichealthseries.com, farmersfootprint.us, ionbiome.com, themclinic.com

What happens when you cross alt-Health, traditional medicine, Deepak, and Yoda? You end up with someone like Zach Bush, MD. He is the poster boy for Predatory Health and with a string of medical qualifications behind him and a very carefully managed public profile,

Bush appears at first glance to be squeaky clean, a real medical messiah, but looks can, as we all know, be deceptive. Dig a little deeper and the real picture behind a slick, well oiled, and carefully orchestrated marketing machine emerges. One designed with a singular purpose. To enrich Zach Bush.

His website offers little gems of new-age “Deepak Chopra like nonsense-statements”, pseudoscience mixed in with traditional medicine, and his range of natural (of course) products and alternate therapies. The lines below are taken directly from his site on a page where he discusses Covid’s impact on the world.

May this respiratory virus that now shares space and time with us teach us of the grave mistakes we have made in disconnecting from our nature and warring against the foundation of the microbiome. If we choose to learn from, rather than fear, this virus, it can reveal the source of our chronic disease epidemics that are the real threat to our species.

The page also just happens to feature a range of cleverly identified products designed to boost your immune system. The insinuation is clear. Covid is a virus-like influenza and these products will help you combat it. Here is how he phrases the sales pitch.

 I’ve included below a series of Lifestyle Cornerstones to integrate into your everyday practices, particularly during respiratory risk seasons, as well as the regimen that I recommend for those feeling the need for more health resources during this time.

Bush has become prominent in Autism circles, touting his theories of gut health as the root cause of autism and offering his products as a treatment. Although the idea of the gut’s involvement in autism is under serious investigation there is, as yet no hard scientific evidence to validate his claims. Bush possesses none or he would most definitely be sharing it. At the Autism One conference in Chicago in 2016, Bush made this statement;

Bush explained, using slides of the gut viewed through a microscope as visual aids, how his plant-derived mineral supplement, RESTORE ($49.95 for a one-month supply), strengthens cell membranes in the gut to keep toxins from leaking out. Bush told the parents in the audience that he was “excited to just be a piece of your puzzle” in the parents’ quest to “rebirth that child into a state of health.” 

Bush isn’t the only doctor that’s cashing in on the gullibility of the public and their desire for new-age hocus pocus, but he is by far the slickest. It’s what makes him so appealing, so believable and so dangerous. He is well aware of where the line is, drawn by the FDA in shifting sand, and he ensures he doesn’t step over it. He now regularly shares platforms with proponents of Covid conspiracies and his views on the coronavirus are dangerous.

Bush’s video interviews on Covid, featured on LondonReal, are accompanied by trailers of the movie Plandemic, a falsified load of pseudoscience and nonsense that is now banned from numerous platforms. These associations confirm his position as quackery’s new poster boy. If you’ve got the money, Zach Bush has the answers. Look deep into his eyes and suspend belief.

Let’s examine the claims published on his website about autism. The following quote is lifted directly from his site’s page on the topic.

Autism spectrum disorder has risen in prevalence from 1 in 5000 children in 1975 to 1 in 36 children in 2016, and the rate has been doubling every 3-4 years in the last decade in the US.

And the rate has been doubling every 3-4 years in the last decade in the US. We are on target to experience 1 in 3 children with Autism by 2035, just 16 years away

Complete and utter lies and fabrication, designed to instill fear in you and make you want the solutions and products he sells. It’s textbook deception, practiced by quacks and charlatans across the globe. I hereby issue a direct challenge to Bush to produce statistical data to verify this claim. He cannot.

The only reason there has been an increase in autism diagnosis over the last few years (and Bush is well aware of this) is that guidelines for diagnosing the condition were relaxed. Resultantly, many more people were reclassified as having autism. Deception, misdirection, and lies. Which cup is the ball in! Here’s a screenshot, just in case the page is whitewashed.

Zach Bush uses a mix of science, pseudoscience, and untruths (lies) couched in new age terminology to fool his victims into purchasing his products and seminars. He is a health predator, no matter how you dress him up, and he is an embarrassment to traditional medicine and the healthcare profession in general.

If you have a serious medical condition or are feeling unwell, you need to seek advice from reputable and established practitioners of evidence-based medicine. There is no harm in seeking alternate treatments to supplement a medical regime of treatments if this is done in careful conjunction, and with the knowledge of, your healthcare provider. In and of their own, alternate treatments aren’t going to cure you, and believing they will, can cost you your life.

Supporting Articles

Articles critical of Bush are hard to come by, buried below his domination of Google searches on the topic of, well, Zach Bush. His newly employed marketing agents (2019) have done him proud. It is also a clear indication of how alt-Health now dominates Google’s pages and how simple it is to manipulate appearances. You simply flood the market with new articles.

Publication – C-Ville: Author Melissa Angell, on June 28, 2016. Missing doctors: Patient seeks records after clinic closes Verdict: The caption on the photo gives an indication of how long Bush has been at his game, and how he has refined his earlier techniques.

Dr. Zachary Bush, right, opened alternative clinic Revolution Health Center in Scottsville. Dr. Martin Katz was a partner there, and both told their patients: “You have the power to heal yourself.”

John Robinson

Publication – Provocative Change Works: Author Nick Kemp, July 29, 2020. Open letter to Michael Hall by Richard Bolstad. Verdict: Bush is a quack, uttering pseudoscientific nonsense.

this stuff by Zach Bush is just wacky.“Bush ruined what could have been an interesting talk when he said that microRNA can be transmitted by breathing. He claimed that you can literally go to the gym, do nothing except breathe in the microRNA that others exhale, and benefit because your cells think they worked out. And, in case that wasn’t enough of a stretch, he described how consuming microRNA from “bored” corn grown in a field with “tens of thousands of corn plants” makes us afraid of diversity and directly contributes to racism and mass shootings.”

Publication – Chad Hayes MD: Author Chad Hayes on March 4, 2017. Citations Needed: The curious “science” of integrative medicine. Verdict: A clinical dissection of the rubbish Bush spews by a medical doctor who practices pediatrics. An excellent article well worth reading and many of the other charlatans we highlight are included in this breakdown of a Conference Hayes attended called, “Get Your Life Back NOW!” held in Orlando, FL in 2017, at which Bush spoke.

In addition to poorly executed science, there were a lot of “facts” tossed out at the conference that left me wondering if the speakers were being intentionally dishonest, or if they were just really, really wrong. Chief among these offenders was Zach Bush, MD, who runs the M Clinic and “Intrinsic Health” center in Charlottesville, VA and sells the RESTORE line of supplements.

Bush, who seems to have some difficulty understanding basic concepts of genetics and mathematics, informed the audience that “genetically speaking, humans are pathetically simple.” His rationale for this was that humans have 20,000 genes, while fungi have 2 trillion. I’ll admit my initial ignorance; although 2 trillion seemed high, I didn’t really know how many genes fungi have. But it wasn’t hard to look up. Gene sequencing reveals that fungal genomes are similar in size to our own, at around 10,000-25,000 genes. But what are eight orders of magnitude among friends? Actual numbers aside, Bush further argued that “if microorganisms were the enemy, we’d be dead.” Which of course, many of our species are, having been unable to overcome infections from a dazzling array of microorganisms.

He then told us how amazing it is that the DNA repair enzyme “travels near the speed of light.” Unfortunately, this is even less true. DNA polymerases responsible for DNA repair travel along DNA strands at approximately 10-20 nucleotides per second, each of which is approximately 0.6 nanometers in length. Being as generous as I can, that comes out to 12 nanometers/second. And in that same second, a photon of light travels 300 million meters, or 25,000,000,000,000,000 times farther than the DNA repair enzyme.

Further revealing his ignorance about genetics, Bush informed us that while “scientists call 99% of DNA ‘junk,’” that simply can’t be correct because “there’s no waste in nature.” Bush asserts that what geneticists refer to as “junk DNA” actually codes for microRNA, small strands of RNA that regulate how our genes are expressed. While microRNA does actually exist, and the roles it plays are fascinating, it makes up a relatively small percentage of our genetic code, about 1-5%.

But then, Bush ruined what could have been an interesting talk when he said that microRNA can be transmitted by breathing. He claimed that you can literally go to the gym, do nothing except breathe in the microRNA that others exhale, and benefit because your cells think they worked out. And, in case that wasn’t enough of a stretch, he described how consuming microRNA from “bored” corn grown in a field with “tens of thousands of corn plants” makes us afraid of diversity and directly contributes to racism and mass shootings.

Publication – Fueled by Science: Author Chana Davis, PhD, 2019. Dear Scientific American. Vegetables are Not Toxic. Down with Fake News. Verdict: A damning condemnation of yet more pseudoscience Bush managed to get published in Scientific American. Bush was asked to redraft the article after this complaint. The original still stands and you can compare the misleading statements Bush presents as fact.

Rather than sticking to legitimate scientific sources (e.g. peer-reviewed scientific publications and meta-analyses by national organizations) the authors turn to a food author, a health product pushing salesman (Dr. Zach Bush) and pseudoscience haven Planetary Health (check it out if you want a smoothie that can cure Ebola!).

Zach Bush, MD, images are all used in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, and increase public health knowledge.

The post Zach Bush, MD on Medika’s Quack Scale appeared first on Medika Life.

If you’re not sure how our Quack Scale works, click here for a detailed explanation

Qualification:  Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, 1993

Current Licensing Status: Humphries is licensed to practice in the state of Maine. She is ABMS Board Member certified in Internal Medicine. Her license is valid.
MD15655, and expires 05/31/2022

Resident: Bangor, Maine (as per licence)

Existing Complaints: None noted as public record

Website: None listed

Another doctor who has abandoned the world of science-based medicine for lala land. Humphries is a prominent figure in anti-vaccine circles and her 2013 book entitled ‘Dissolving Illusions’ may as well have been entitled ‘Ignoring Science’. It is a case study in the manipulation of existing scientific doctrine to support the author’s fraudulent and misleading claims regarding vaccination. She is dangerous and her deranged and unsubstantiated opinions have no place in modern medicine. Her opinions, writings, and advice, both medical and otherwise should be avoided.

Humphries enjoys strong ties to the disgraced doctor, Andrew Wakefield, and has drifted away from her formal medical training to embrace the world of homeopathy, vitalism and pseudo-science, much of which she supports with an active disinformation campaign of distorted science. She is very vocal on platforms like Youtube and enjoys large support within fringe health circles. She is also involved with the Medical Council on Vaccination, a front group for vaccine hysteria.

Like all the quacks and con-artists we list, Humphreys is able to use her limited and specific medical knowledge to confuse and mislead the public. Her views and support of anti-vaccine groups make her particularly dangerous. To form a clear opinion of just how misguided and lost Dr. Humphries has become, we recommend reading the accompanying articles below.

Supporting Articles

Publication – RationalWiki: Author: by Publication on Dec 20, 2019. Suzanne Humphries Verdict: She has also attempted to combine anti-vax sentiment with poorly-thought-out religious gobbledygook (i.e., lies purportedly based on scripture) in an effort to convince somebody that the Bible and Koran are opposed to vaccination. Pull the other leg, please.

She promotes mystical powers of Vitamin C, calling it “the basis of life,”^[10] and asserts it magically “neutralizes any toxins in the blood.”^[10] Additionally, she woefully misunderstands or willfully misrepresents research to support her ideas. In an article on whooping cough, she states that lethargy in chronically ill people is commonly due to Vitamin C deficiency, citing a paper on the antioxidative properties of Vitamin C in the mitochondria as her only evidence. In the same article, she asserts Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is caused by Vitamin C deficiency, yet her sole evidence is a paper which found carnitine supplementation prevented mitochondrial abnormalities in rats with Vitamin C deficiency

Publication – Science Blogs: Author oracknows on February 16, 2011 – Dr. Suzanne Humphries and the International Medical Council on Vaccination: Antivaccine to the core Verdict: A real anti-vaxxer and as you can see from the date on the article, she’s been at it for a while. A wonderful rebuttal of Humphries’ claims to be speaking from a position of authority and knowledge.

So let me get this straight. Vaccines have never been tested for long term complications? What about all those studies the looked for and failed to find links between vaccines and autism, asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, and many other conditions? Oh, wait. Dr. Humphries put the word “truly” in there. So she’s conceding that vaccines are safe based on the science thus far. She just thinks they aren’t “truly” safe, whatever that means. (Note also how she’s simply using a variant of the word “truth”; she’s clearly all about The Truth–big T–than she is about science.) Actually, I rather suspect the word “truly” means whatever Humphries wants to mean, the better to shift goalposts as more studies verifying the safety of vaccines roll in.

Publication – Medium: Author Isabella B., Dec 22, 2014. Why Dr. Suzanne Humphries, an anti-vaccine activist, is lying to you about measles. Verdict: Vaccinate or don’t vaccinate. But please don’t base your decision on the writings of this extremist.

The post Dr. Suzanne Humphries on Medika’s Quack Scale appeared first on Medika Life.

If you’re not sure how our Quack Scale works, click here for a detailed explanation

Qualification: Emergency Medicine

Current Licensing Status: Dr. Edgar Suter is licensed to practice by the state board in Arizona (28552). If not Renewed, the License expires 08/13/2022.

Resident: San Tan Valley, Arizona, his practice address is registered as Vibrant Health, 4900 N Scottsdale Rd, Ste 2400, Scottsdale AZ 85251

Existing Complaints: FDA Letter dated 18 Nov 2020. FTC Letter dated 18 Nov 2020. 2016 action by California’s Medical Board which led to Suter surrendering his medical license in California. Follow the link for the details.

Website: vibranthealthcare.org

Dr. Edgar Suter is an interesting case. He is well educated and can therefore not offer any defense against the claims lodged by the FDA and FTC in relation to unproven treatments he sells and the claims he makes relating to these products and treatments. He would know full well that he has stepped over a line, repeatedly and there can only one motivator for his actions. He is seeking to benefit financially from the sale of unsafe, unproven, and unlicensed products he portrays as medicines and treatments. By doing so, his practice, his business, and his reputation are forfeit and he is now firmly established as a quack.

As this is a new complaint, we will deal specifically with the complaints filed against him rather than seeking out other web resources. The accusations are serious and potentially crippling to his practice and credibility. If you are currently engaged in treatment or considering treatment from this practitioner or practice, we strongly urge you to seek a reliable, honest second opinion.

Although Suter has been engaged for years in selling these questionable treatments, his latest claims relating to their efficacy against Covid-19 prompted the FDA to act against him. In a letter dated 18 Nov 2020, various complaints were issued against Suter, his website, and the social media channels his practice uses to advertise its quackery. The subject of the complaint: Unapproved and Misbranded Products Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

This isnt Suter’s first brush with authorities. He has a history of misleading the public and using illegal shortcuts to profit. In 2016 he had to surrender his medical license in California as part of a legal case brought against him. You can read the details of the action brought against him by the California Medical Board here and verify his license status in California here. His business, called 420 Wellness Today, was selling medical marijuana.

Current FDA Complaint

The following extracts are lifted directly from the FDA Complaint. They offer a damning picture of the doctor and his methods.

The FDA has observed that you offer an umbilical cord derived cellular product in the United States to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19^[1] in people.

Your umbilical cord derived cellular product is an unapproved new drug under section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), 21 U.S.C. § 355.  Furthermore, this product is a misbranded drug under section 502 of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 352.  It is a prohibited act under section 301(k) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 331(k) to do any act with respect to a drug, if such act is done while the drug is held for sale after shipment in interstate commerce and results in the drug being misbranded.

As described below, you offer a product for sale that is intended to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people.  We request that you take immediate action to cease the marketing or sale of any such unlicensed, unapproved, and unauthorized products for the mitigation, prevention, treatment, diagnosis, or cure of COVID-19.

Not only was the doctor offering an illegal, unlicensed product or “medicine”, he was also making outrageous and unsubstantiated claims about the products, all in the name of boosting sales. See the following example from his Facebook page.

“How can we improve our odds of staying healthy and fighting off Coronavirus? Shelley Blanzy of Vibrant Health Care speaks with Dr. Edgar Suter regarding prevention and treatment options that are now available….Please call…to schedule a consultation with Dr. Suter.” A video accompanies this post in which Dr. Suter states, “We saw that mesenchymal stem cells, stem cells, can be helpful in even bringing people back from the brink of death . . . as far gone as on the respirator very near death who have had infusions intravenously of stem cells and have come back without lung damage, without organ system damage…I’m of the belief that…stem cell infusions intravenously…can help fortify us so that we’re less likely to get and less likely to succumb to this COVID-19 pandemic.” [www.facebook.com/vibranthealthcare]

.

and this post, off his website.

“According to Edgar Suter, MD who has performed hundreds of successful stem cell therapy treatments, the anti-inflammatory and healing properties of stem cells can help patients form a formidable barrier against the virus. This is especially true for patients who are less equipped to fight off infections due to a weaker immune system, other illnesses or aging. Per Dr. Suter, fortifying the lungs’’ [sic] with umbilical cord tissue that contains millions of potent stem cells is a great way for patients to boost their ability to fight off virus and other related illnesses.” [www.vibranthealthcare.org/blog/can-stemcell-therapy-help-patients-with-coronavirus]

Not satisfied with trying to con the victims of Covid-19, his wild and outlandish claims also stretch to a whole host of other diseases, such as diabetes, ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, lupus, inflammatory bile disease, and asthma. His exploitation of these vulnerable groups through the unsubstantiated claims he makes, is in our opinion, unforgivable and not befitting the conduct of a reputable doctor.

On your website, you have a page dedicated to autoimmune diseases (including lupus, Crohn’s disease, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease), and you claim:

Your Vibrant Health Care specialist injects flowable allograft containing stem cells from donated umbilical cord tissue into the affected areas of the body. At Vibrant Health Care, we see our patients show great improvements in their symptoms after the treatment.”

These are statements from a con-artist and charlatan, trying to sell you his expensive brand of snake oil. The only thing that’s going to be rejuvenated after your interaction with Dr. Suter is his bank account. Avoid and seek honest, alternate medical advice.

Dr. Edgar Suter’s images are all used in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, commonly known as “fair use law”. This material is distributed without profit with the intent to provide commentary, review, education, and increase public health knowledge.

The post Dr. Edgar Suter on Medika’s Quack Scale appeared first on Medika Life.

If you’re not sure how our Quack Scale works, click here for a detailed explanation

Qualification: A Diploma issued by Trinity School of Natural Health

Current Licensing Status: Sherrill Sellman is not board certified by any recognized certification board. Furthermore, while she takes great pains not to disclose her address anywhere on her website, she is reportedly in Tulsa, OK. Sellman is not licensed to practice any form of medicine by the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision. Sellman is a graduate of the Trinity School of Natural Health which offers online programs. The school is not accredited by any accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. She is a fraud and con artist.

Resident: Burlington, MA (According to FDA complaint)

Existing Complaints: FDA Warning issued. June 1, 2020. New York Attorney Generals Office Cease and Desist Notice, March 11, 2020. Pulaski Circuit Court, Arkansas, Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, June 2020

Website: drsherrillsellman..com

The popup on the bottom of this quack’s website pretty much sums it up in a sentence. “Dr. Sherrill is constantly giving discounts on products. A good idea is to check and Share the Love with your friends and family.” Not only will Sherril Sellman discount her snake oil and fake products, but she would also like you to spread the poison around, particularly to trusting friends and family. Nothing like a little quackery networking.

Sellman has been formally warned by the FDA to remove her Covid quackery from her website. She has been encouraging gullible members of the public to purchase Colloidal Silver and “nano-silver” as a cure-all for Covid. FACT: Collodial Silver does not cure or offer protection against Covid-19. Sherrill Sellman is lying to you so she can sell you her products which she hypes up with false and misleading claims. It’s that simple. Her website is also listed on our Rotten Retailers List

Avoid her advice and avoid any of her products. She is motivated by profit and does not enjoy the necessary medical expertise to make the claims and statements she makes relating to health. A quack of the highest order.

Supporting Articles

Publication – Truth in Advertising: Author: by Publication on June 20. Dr Sherrill Sellman Verdict: Caught dead to rights, Sellman had no choice other than to remove all her misleading claims

On March 11, the New York Attorney General’s office ordered Sellman to “immediately cease and desist from making misleading claims” following a guest appearance on the Jim Bakker Show in which she affirmed that the host’s Silver Solution supplement could potentially “eliminate” the coronavirus “within 12 hours.” (Eight days earlier, Bakker received his own cease-and-desist letter from the attorney general. Six weeks after the segment aired on Feb. 12, Bakker announced in a video that he was suspending sales of Silver Solution.)

Publication – Center for Science in the Public Interest: Letter dispatched by Dr. Peter Lurie, Executive Director on Feb 20, 2020, to FTC and FDA, Verdict: Given the nature of the public health threat posed by the coronavirus and the attendant public concern, we urge immediate action by both agencies to halt this fraud on the public.

One example of such an exchange referring to Silver Solution occurred in a 2/12/2020 episode entitled “A Close Look at What’s Not Being Said About the Coronavirus (Day 1)” (at 41:50), following a long discussion of the risks of the coronavirus.3 The conversation occurred between Bakker and contributor Sherrill Sellman, while an advertisement and 1-800 number for buying the product was displayed across the bottom of the screen:

Publication – The Washington Post: Author Meagan Flynn on March 11, 2020. A disgraced televangelist promoted an alleged cure to coronavirus. Missouri is now suing him Verdict: Sellman conspired with televangelist Jim Bakker to mislead the public

The post Dr. Sherrill Sellman on Medika’s Quack Scale appeared first on Medika Life.

In fact, much to my surprise after spending days online hunting down these quacks and charlatans for our Medika Quack Scale, I discovered that the FDA has a list on an obscure page of all the businesses, companies, and individuals they’ve sanctioned over fake Covid-19 claims. in 2020. All 139 of them.

If you are in any doubt, and you should be, about any claims made by an individual relating to a product’s ability to boost your immune system against Covid or to directly combat the virus, have a quick look through the listed products on the FDA page. Keep in mind, if these individuals or companies have lied to you about these products, all their other claims and products should also be viewed as suspect.

FDA Page: Fraudulent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Products.

Additional COVID-19 related warning letters can be found on the Agency’s Internet Pharmacy Warning Letters webpage. According to the page;

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing warning letters to firms for selling fraudulent products with claims to prevent, treat, mitigate, diagnose or cure coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We are actively monitoring for any firms marketing products with fraudulent COVID-19 prevention and treatment claims. The FDA is exercising its authority to protect consumers from firms selling unapproved products and making false or misleading claims, including, by pursuing warning letters, seizures, injunctions or criminal prosecutions against products and firms or individuals that violate the law.

You can also report any products or website by visiting this FDA page. Always educate yourself on a product or treatment, particularly vitamin and homeopathic – natural products that make claims. The internet provides a number of resources and you should always seek out information from recognized medical websites.

Medika is building a list of untrustworthy retailers that profit from selling snake oil, fake cures, and making fictitious claims about their products. You can view our Rotten Retailers List by following the link. The video below explains the FDA approach to health fraud.

There is also another fantastic resource on the FDA site that lists loads of links and offers advice and breaking news on how the FDA is dealing with health fraud. Visit the page here

The post Fraudulent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Products appeared first on Medika Life.