FTC to three Kansas City area companies: Stop hyping unfounded COVID-19 remedies
The Federal Trade Commission in recent weeks has sent warning letters to three businesses in the Kansas City area demanding that they stop promoting unsubstantiated treatments for the novel coronavirus.
The FTC, a consumer watchdog agency, says claims made that various supplements or other products can treat or cure COVID-19 are not supported by scientific evidence. The coronavirus strain responsible for the current pandemic has no proven prophylactic treatment or vaccine.
The FTC instructed the following businesses to quit promoting purported coronavirus treatment products:
▪ The Epigenics Healing Center, 406 W. 109th St., Overland Park;
▪ The McDonagh Medical Center, 2800 N.E. Kendallwood Pkwy., Gladstone;
▪ Revive & Rally Health Lounge, 1729 Walnut St., Kansas City.
The Epigenics Healing Center, according to the FTC, used its Facebook page to suggest that intravenous vitamin C and antioxidant glutathione treatments were effective against the coronavirus.
“Iv vitamin c in high doses are knocking covid 19 out in wuhan China,” The Epigenics Healing Center’s Facebook site said in a March 17 post, according to the FTC’s letter, as one example of its unsubstantiated promotion of coronavirus treatments. “Come get yours at the Epigenics Healing Center asap.”
The Epigenics Healing Center is run by Jay Goodbinder, who is licensed as a chiropractor in Kansas.
The Star reported in April that Goodbinder was pushing vitamin C infusions as a possible prevention or treatment of coronavirus. Health experts contacted by The Star at the time warned that high doses of vitamin C can potentially be dangerous.
Goodbinder told The Star in April that there was anecdotal evidence that vitamin C can be helpful in any viral concern.
The FTC said it’s unlawful to advertise any product as a prevention, treatment or cure for human disease unless there’s reliable scientific evidence like a well-controlled human clinical study to support the claim.
Goodbinder said in an email Thursday that he believes he has information that supports his statements about the treatments, “but to comply with the FTC request we removed that content.”
He also said that he never personally said that vitamin C could knock out coronavirus, but that it was a paraphrase of an article he linked to.
“That was not a great choice of words,” he said.
Last year, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts issued Goodbinder a public censure for advertising himself as a doctor but omitting the initials “D.C.” to signify he is a licensed chiropractor. Instead, he affixed the initials “PSc.D,” which Goodbinder explained to Kansas health licensing regulators stood for “Doctor of Pastoral Science & Medicine,” a branch of medicine not recognized by the Kansas Board of Healing Arts. He was fined $1,250.
The FTC’s warning to the McDonagh Medical Center cites Facebook posts that suggest ultraviolet light and ozone therapies and other techniques are coronavirus remedies.
Carey Wennerstrom, a doctor of osteopathic medicine with McDonagh, said the center is in compliance with the FTC.
“McDonagh Medical Center is on the frontlines and we have successfully treated multiple COVID pts (patients),” Wennerstrom said in an email to The Star. “We are in compliance with the FTC.”
Revive & Rally Health Lounge in the Crossroads Arts District came under FTC scrutiny for an April 28 website post that suggested high doses of vitamin C can help with coronavirus.
“High dose Vitamin C is well established to improve immunity and help healing as we look to this outbreak of Coronavirus,” the website said. “Vitamin C, is not only a broad antiviral, but it is also an anti-oxidant, so it will reduce the effect a virus like Coronavirus can have on your body.”
Rahul Kapur, a hospitalist at North Kansas City Hospital and Liberty Hospital and medical director of Revive & Rally, said the web post was written by a social media team in India.
“Unfortunately, the wording — because our social media team is in India — some of the wording came off as, I have a treatment for covid,” Kapur said. ”That was not my intent.”
The three local businesses were part of 100 different organizations or individuals across the country that the FTC warned about promoting coronavirus remedies.
