Laboratory-developed tests have proliferated in volume and complexity. In 2024, the FDA released a rule that mandates LDTs to comply with current FDA requirements.
Government AccountabilityIrene Ulrich, PharmD, MPH
As the saying goes, “Another day, another dollar.” That’s how people shilling for shady Covid-19 cures must view the pandemic. One day it’s ivermectin, the next it’s hydroxychloroquine or colloidal silver.
It’s not as if the U.S. monkeypox response has been ideal, but we actually began with a head start. Unlike in the early days of COVID-19, viable vaccines were available for monkeypox in the form of smallpox vaccines.
Remember hydroxychloroquine? Yes, there were anecdotes and observational studies, but, no, it flunked the gold standard for evidence, randomized controlled trials. Ditto with ivermectin.
Now the man named “the most influential spreader of coronavirus misinformation online” is promoting another candidate for magic bullet: vitamin D.
Some ultraviolet (UV) disinfecting wands—pitched to kill bugs like E. coli or Salmonella on surfaces—emit unsafe levels of radiation that may injure skin or eyes in a few seconds, warns the FDA. Some wands gave off 3,000 times more UV-C than the recommended limit.
