Originally published February 20 2013
FDA bad-mouths natural flu remedies, tries to trick consumers into getting flu vaccine instead
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) The government's "health" agencies are at it again, this time pushing more flu vaccines on an unsuspecting population by threatening makers of natural remedies.
Regulators at the Food and Drug Administration have sent letters to nine Internet distributors of dietary supplements with a warning to cease and desist making "false" claims about their products' ability to ward off the flu virus.
The companies say their products can help reduce the severity and/or duration of the flu with the use of supplements - a claim the FDA's Big Pharma backers are obviously uncomfortable with.
You will not provide alternatives...
In a letter to a company called Supplementality LLC, for instance, government health regulators said the distributor was improperly offering products that were allegedly aimed at diagnosing, mitigating, preventing, treating or curing flu virus, the Chicago Tribune reported. The letter demanded the company "immediately cease marketing" in that manner.
"There are no over-the-counter products that shorten the duration or severity of the flu," Gary Coody, FDA's national health fraud coordinator, told the paper.
The government warning covers products that include resveratrol, echinacea, elderberry, garlic, astragalus immune support system and ashwagandha.
Despite the widespread use of so-called "flu vaccines" again this year, flu cases are unusually severe this year, so the government's warning seems especially punitive amid a rush for alternative remedies.
Coody said in some cases of alleged infractions cited in the FDA warning letters pertained to what the agency has deemed misleading claims about the supplements. In other letters, the warnings related to the supposed sale of phony versions of Tamiflu, which is a prescription antiviral medication.
Other companies that received warning letters include: Discount Online Pharmacy, Kosher Vitamin Express, Medsnoscript, Oasis Consumer Healthcare LLC, Secure Medical Inc., Sun Drug Store, Vitalmax Vitamins, and the University of Berkley, whose marketing of the "Berkley Body-Immune Flu Prevention" product is a violation of law.
Coody said six companies have responded to the FDA warnings and have made the mandated corrections.
Again, the warnings come amid a banner year for the flu, which makes the FDA's actions seem retaliatory to say the least, since millions of Americans are trying to seek flu relief as best they can.
Especially hard-hit is the nation's elderly population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's top physician, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden. This, despite the distribution and administration of tens of millions of doses of "flu vaccines" this past fall.
In all, according to The New York Times, vaccine makers have delivered 145 million doses this year - 10 million more than previously projected.
At the flu's peak, scores of older Americans were dying from pneumonia and other flu-related afflictions, levels that surpassed the "epidemic" curve for the first time, the paper said. More than 30 children have died as well.
Cure for flu deaths? A flu shot...
In fact, as Natural News has reported, the flu vaccine is thought to be responsible for the deaths of at least two Minnesota teens.
(http://www.naturalnews.com/039140_flu_shot_teens_death_risk.html)
In response, state health officials are urging more Minnesotans to get flu shots.
"Still others have since tried to reassure the public that flu shots still work, and that Carly's death is some kind of medical anomaly," Ethan A. Huff wrote. "But the science speaks for itself -- in a best case scenario, flu shots provide protection for only about 1.5 out of every 100 people. The other 98.5 people who get flu shots are needlessly exposed to toxic adjuvants and viral materials that could cause them to develop the flu, or worse."
And yet, despite that horrifically poor "success" rate, the FDA wants to punish natural remedy providers for giving Americans a choice.
Sources:
http://www.chicagotribune.com
http://www.nytimes.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/039140_flu_shot_teens_death_risk.html
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