Ripoff

You may have heard that the FDA recently concluded that a common ingredient in over-the-counter cold medicines doesn't work.  That's a gift link to a NYT essay by Randy C. Hatton and Leslie Hendeles. This may not seem like such a big deal in itself, but there was never any good evidence that it worked in the first place and pharmacologists have been telling the FDA that it doesn't work for decades. The fact is that a lot of over-the-counter products that have FDA approval probably don't work. Oh, and by the way just about 100% of the so-called "supplements" and homeopathic "remedies" don't work either.

These are two somewhat separate but related problems. Prior to 1962, over-the-counter medications didn't need to prove they were effective to get FDA approval, but only that they were safe. Although evidence of effectiveness was required after 1962, evidence of ineffectiveness would be required to remove products from the market, and the FDA itself has no means of conducting or financing the necessary studies. Obviously the companies that make gazillions selling them have no incentive to do it either. The FDA has removed some products when evidence showed them to be unsafe, but even that evidence is hard to come by and a lot of the snake oil on pharmacy shelves may actually be harmful.

As for "supplements," unless they are shown to be unsafe the FDA has no means of regulating them. And it's very difficult to assess their safety because there is no guarantee that what's on the label is what's in the bottle. Real homeopathic products are generally safe since they are actually nothing but plain old water, but they're hurting people by defrauding them of their money and possibly causing them to delay seeing a real doctor and getting effective treatment. Congress obviously isn't going to do anything about this as long as the purveyors of this garbage keep lining their pockets, but you can't do something -- don't buy that crap.

On a slightly different subject, it is true that the Covid 19 vaccines don't entirely prevent infection or transmission, but they do in fact reduce the risk. If you're bout with the disease is shorter and milder, you are less likely to transmit the disease to others. So there is an issue of communal responsibility in getting the vaccine. However, as far as I know hardly anyone is calling for a mandate for adults, other than for health care workers, so yes, what's happening is that it's available and legally, people can make up their own minds. But claims that it isn't safe, or isn't effective, or that it's some sort of plot to sterilize the white race are completely nuts. So don't believe them. And get the shot.