Any “cure” for COVID-19 Is a Scam
This is your periodic reminder that there is still no known cure or specific pharmaceutical prevention or treatment for COVID-19. So if anyone is selling it, it is a scam.
Yes, there are several promising drugs. For people who are critically ill with COVID-19 and feel so bad that their body attacks itself, the corticosteroid dexamethasone seems to increase these patients’ chances of survival . It doesn’t fight the virus, it just reduces the body’s inflammatory response. Thus, it does not help prevent disease and does not help people who have only a mild form of the disease. And this is our best drug so far! Remdesivir may help a little , but it’s not a miracle cure either. There is a lot of talk about hydroxychloroquine, but its effectiveness in trials is disappointing . With this tracker, you can track your progress against current drug (and vaccine) candidates.
But despite these very limited results, there are many supplements and even harmful mixtures that are marketed as if they were doing something for COVID-19. As of this writing, the FDA has sent 86 warning letters to companies illegally claiming they can treat, prevent, or cure the coronavirus.
The product contains colloidal silver, which does not heal anything and can be harmful ; CBD products that are often marketed as a panacea with no evidence that they are doing anything ; homeopathic “medicines” that take advantage of a bizarre loophole in FDA regulations (they don’t and literally can’t work); and a host of other products such as essential oils, herbal medicines, and dietary supplements. There is no evidence that any of this will do anything for COVID-19.
And it gets worse. One of the products on the FDA’s shitty list bills itself as a true COVID-19 vaccine . (Again, check the tracker – there is no vaccine for this coronavirus, which is somewhere near large-scale trials , much less available to consumers.)
Another dangerous fake medicine is a substance known as “miracle mineral solution” ( essentially bleach ). It has been marketed as a cure for all diseases, but of course drinking bleach doesn’t cure anything. Last week, the FBI raided a “church” that was said to be a front for a business that makes and sells MMS as a cure for COVID-19.
COVID-19 is caused by a virus and there is currently no vaccine, prevention, treatment or cure for the virus or the infection it causes. If you think you have COVID-19, you should contact your doctor (by phone or virtually), isolate yourself to avoid infecting others , and take care of yourself as you would for any respiratory infection.