Consumer Health Digest, Issue #22-04 (original) (raw)
Consumer Health Digest is a free weekly e-mail newsletter edited by William M. London, Ed.D., M.P.H., with help from Stephen Barrett, M.D., It summarizes scientific reports; legislative developments; enforcement actions; other news items; Web site evaluations; recommended and nonrecommended books; research tips; and other information relevant to consumer protection and consumer decision-making. The Digest’s primary focus is on health, but occasionally it includes non-health scams and practical tips. Items posted to this archive may be updated when relevant information becomes available. To subscribe, click here.
Improper COVID-19-related conduct of Canadian physicians spotlighted. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), which regulates the practice of medicine in Ontario, Canada, is reportedly investigating whether more than 40 physicians have inappropriately prescribed treatments, shared unverified vaccine information, or issued fraudulent vaccine exemptions. [Stewart A. 40 Ontario physicians currently being investigated for COVID-19 issues: College. Global News, Jan 20, 2022]
Late last year, the CPSO accused Drs. Mary O’Connor, Mark Trozzi, Patrick Phillips, and Rochagne Kilian, of failing to comply with investigations into allegations that they issued improper medical exemptions for COVID-19 vaccinations. The report noted:
- O’Connor is alleged to have issued a vaccine exemption to a patient because the vaccine “could cause a life-threatening illness.”
- Trozzi was barred from issuing medical exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines, masking requirements, and testing, but his license remains active. He allegedly issued exemptions to patients in which he described vaccines as “injectable COVID-19 experimental genetic therapies.” He has also described the pandemic as a “planned exercise in population control.”
- Phillips, a rural family doctor, has used social media to compare COVID-19 public health measures to the Holocaust. His Twitter account, which has 40,000 followers, was suspended after he posted confidential documents from the CSPO investigation. The documents included the names of experts and CPSO staff, enabling them to be attacked online by Phillips’ supporters. In September, CPSO alleged that Phillips engaged in disgraceful, dishonorable, or unprofessional conduct in his communications regarding the pandemic. It also imposed several COVID-19-related restrictions on his practice of medicine. [Restrictions imposed on Ontario doctor accused of spreading COVID misinformation. Canadian Press, Sept 28, 2021]
- Kilian allegedly provided vaccine exemptions through a website called Enable Air that works with “licensed physicians” to grant vaccination and mask exemptions for an undisclosed fee. Her certificate of registration was suspended late last year.
- A mobile number linked to an archived version of Enable Air’s website offers the publicly listed number of British Columbia physician Gwyllyn Goddard. Half an hour after he was asked about it, Enable Air’s website was taken down. Dr. Goddard’s CPSO listing indicates that he resigned his membership in 2016.
- An archived Enable Air page from July 2021 stated that half of its “post administrative fees” for medical exemptions went to lawyer Rocco Galati “to pay for the fees required to win cases that support employees and other people’s rights to informed medical consent.” Galati is also the executive director of the Toronto-based Constitutional Rights Centre.
- An archived web page from May 2021 indicated that 462 people were in Enable Air’s queue for exemptions.
- British Columbia physician Stephen Malthouse has signed at least one exemption form provided by Enable Air. Despite complaints he promoted false COVID-19 claims and opposed public health measures, he is still practicing medicine and is part of Doctors on Tour, a group that claims vaccines are harmful.
- At a December 13 church event, Malthouse introduced Dr. Charles Hoffe, who claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are “clot shots” and “death shots” and said that “more people have died from these shots than from all vaccines in history combined.” Hoffe has admitted that he is under investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.
- The Canadian Covid Care Alliance (CCCA) of doctors, scientists, and health care practitioners claims to provide “independent science-based evidence to empower Canadians,” but its website and social media pages contradict public health advice about COVID-19 vaccines. CCCA’s listed address on their Corporations Canada page is the same as that of Dr. Ira Bernstein, a Toronto family physician specializing in “nutritional medicine.” He has appeared in videos disclosing that he is the CCCA founder and that he treats COVID-19 patients with ivermectin. A recent CCCA anti-vaccine video called “Pfizer inoculations do more harm than good” has had more than 1.6 million views on Rumble.
[Stewart A. Revealed: How a web of Canadian doctors are undermining the fight against COVID-19. Global News, Jan 18, 2022]
Another anti-vax doctor profiled. Quackwatch has published a report on John Parks Trowbridge, M.D., who practices in Humble, Texas, and has held leadership positions in many quackery-promoting organizations. During the past year, Trowbridge has provided opinions on COVID-19 vaccinations to patients and others who returned a 32-item questionnaire about their age and health history. When Dr. Stephen Barrett submitted a questionnaire (under an assumed name), Trowbridge advised against COVID vaccination even though Barrett’s answers revealed no recognized risk factors. Barrett’s report also spotlights wild claims on Trowbridge’s website about chelation therapy, heavy-metal toxicity, and supposed yeast problems. [Barrett S. A skeptical look at John Parks Trowbridge, M.D. Quackwatch, Jan 17, 2022]
Arkansas inmates sue jail over improper COVID-19 treatment. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas and its physician, Robert Karas, M.D. The complaint alleges that the jail’s medical staff gave detainees ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without their consent while telling them the pills were “vitamins.” [Cohen L. “They used us as an experiment”: Arkansas inmates who were given ivermectin to treat COVID file federal lawsuit against jail. CBS News, Jan 17, 2022] The complaint also notes that Washington County has contracted to pay Karas Correctional Health $1,374,000 per year for its services. Taras has touted ivermectin for months. In July 2021, his practice, Karas Health Care, said on Facebook, “if anybody you know tests positive send them or [sic] way and we’ll get them started on doxy, singular [sic] , ivermectin, vitamin d, vitamin c and zinc.” [Cohen L. Arkansas doctor who prescribed ivermectin to jail detainees for COVID now under investigation by medical board. CBS News, Aug 27, 2021]
Faith-healing exemption for parents who neglect children is under fire. Protect Idaho Kids, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity focused on child-abuse prevention and other causes related to child well-being, is calling for repeal or amendment of a section of Idaho law that protects parents from prosecution if they deny life-saving care to children on religious grounds. [Corbin C. Group calls for Idaho Legislature to repeal faith healing exemption. Idaho Capital Sun, Jan 12, 2022]
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