USA Today - 18.03.2020

NEWS USA TODAY ❚ WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2020 ❚ 7A

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OPINION

MIKE THOMPSON/USA TODAY NETWORK

The spread of novel coronavirus

(COVID-19) has captured the attention

of the world.

Understandably, people are con-

cerned about the best ways to protect

themselves and their loved ones. Along

with the heightened focus surrounding

this global outbreak comes the poten-

tial for consumers to be lured into buy-

ing unproven or fraudulent products or

medicines that claim to treat, prevent

or cure infections, including COVID-19.

While the Food and Drug Admini-

stration is working full speed, in col-

laboration with public and private sec-

tor partners, to help diagnose, treat and

prevent this disease, presently there

are no FDA-approved products to pre-

vent, treat or cure COVID-19.

We are aware that unscrupulous

marketers are hawking products online

and in stores that claim to do just that.

Consumers should be wary of anyone

making these claims and instead talk

with a licensed health care professional

before taking or using any such prod-

uct. Taking matters into your own

hands by purchasing and using un-

proven products without consulting

your doctor puts you and others at risk

for serious health consequences.

Part of the FDA’s mission is to pro-

tect Americans from health fraud. This

includes warning about the dangers of

purchasing and using medical products

or devices that have not been proven

safe and/or effective for the uses they

claim. Health fraud scams can cause

delays in proper diagnoses and treat-

ment and might even lead to more seri-

ous injuries or death, all the while wast-

ing American consumers’ hard-earned

dollars.

Warning seven companies

The FDA and the Federal Trade Com-

mission have already issued warning

letters to seven companies for selling

fraudulent COVID-19 products. The

products cited — teas, essential oils,

tinctures and colloidal silver — are un-

approved drugs that pose significant

risks to patient health and violate fed-

eral law.

We will continue to use authorities

like this for other bogus products

claiming to treat, prevent or cure CO-

VID-19. When the FDA takes action in

these cases, it is important to note that

numerous unapproved and potentially

unsafe products will continue to be sold

directly to consumers, in part because

in the age of the internet, companies or

individuals can simply move their

products to another platform once the

original site is shut down.

The FDA has dedicated staff closely

monitoring for the sale of products

making false claims related to CO-

VID-19. The products we are seeing

range from herbal products and ayur-

vedic medicines to protective masks

and hand sanitizers. Some are offered

for sale in the United States, while oth-

ers are marketed outside the country to

U.S. consumers.

As part of our effort to combat de-

ceptive activity, we are working closely

with major retailers who are monitor-

ing their online marketplaces for fraud-

ulent products with novel coronavirus

and other pathogen claims.

Reports of nearly 100 products

To date, the FDA has received re-

ports of more than 90 products market-

ed with unapproved claims to prevent,

treat or cure COVID-19. The agency has

found 50 products marketed on popu-

lar online marketplaces with similar,

unproven claims. All of these listings

have been removed by their respective

marketplaces.

We are also monitoring retail stores,

websites that appear to be legitimate

pharmacies and social media plat-

forms. The FDA will take action against

unscrupulous actors who are market-

ing unlawful products related to this

outbreak. Companies that fail to take

corrective action immediately may be

subject to federal enforcement action,

such as seizure or injunction.

Consumers and health care profes-

sionals can help by reporting suspected

fraud to the FDA’s Health Fraud Pro-

gram or to the Office of Criminal Inves-

tigations. To report adverse reactions

or other problems with FDA-regulated

products, consumers can contact their

state’s FDA Consumer Complaint Coor-

dinator.

The FDA, in conjunction with our

federal and international partners, will

continue to help advance response ef-

forts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak,

and that includes warning consumers

against becoming victims of health

fraud and taking action to stop health

scams.

Dr. Stephen M. Hahn is the commis-

sioner of the Food and Drug Admini-

stration.

FDA chief: Be wary

of COVID-19 ‘cures’

Scams could lead to

serious injuries or death

Stephen M. Hahn

COVID-19 test in Lake Success, New

York.ANDREW THEODORAKIS/GETTY IMAGES

YOUR SAY

Coronavirus is testing the health and
strength of the American people.
For the next few weeks, we must
utilize caution and common sense. I am
not a doctor, but I have the most pro-
found respect for American doctors as
they are the best the world over.
We cannot allow our emotions to
outweigh our reason. For now, we must
cancel events. We must limit crowd siz-
es and, if necessary, we must step back
from our usual activities. However, as

weeks and months go by, we must not

forsake our inherent rights.

The American people are the guard-

ians at the gate for our liberties. Free-

dom of assembly and our participation

in commerce are some of the core prin-

ciples that are temporarily in limbo due

to this virus. The government does not

have the right to prohibit these free-

doms indefinitely. Every man, woman

and child is entitled to these rights from

birth. The virus will come and go, but

our liberty must grow ever stronger.

Henry J.H. Wilson

Barrington, Ill.

Coronavirus tests American freedoms

LETTERS

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During a pandemic, the last thing
you want is sick people going to work,
and infecting others, because the work-
ers won’t get paid if they stay home.
For years, in fact, public health ex-
perts have argued that the USA’s ab-
sence of national paid sick leave, nearly
unique among developed nations,
would come back to haunt us during a
major health crisis.
They were, of course, right. But
paid-leave mandates have been fought
all the way by small businesses and by
large corporations that employ low-
paid workers, including those in the
restaurant and grocery business.
The measure passed late last week
by the House, mandating two weeks
sick leave, is a step in the right direc-
tion. Sick leave is absolutely vital to
empower sick workers to stay home
and away from others while still keep-
ing bread on the table.
However, in the face of industry and
Republican opposition, the House-
passed bill is incomplete and has some
gaping holes. It would only apply to
companies with fewer than 500 people
and allows the Labor Department to ex-
empt those with fewer than 50 if it feels
that the mandate would jeopardize
their business.
Fortunately, the political ground
seems to have shifted since the House
passage, and a more robust Senate bill
looks likely. On Monday, President
Donald Trump called for expanding the
measure.
The Senate needs to include large
companies. While companies with at
least 500 employees are much more apt
to already have paid sick leave, many
do not. Approximately 1 in 10 workers at
these companies don’t, according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This
translates to 6 million people. With the
possibility of hardship exemptions for
companies with fewer than 50 workers,
the numbers working while sick will

likely remain too high.

All countermeasures against out-

breaks, including incentives for sick

people to stay home, work best in the

early stages, even before officials have

a sense of how serious the problem is.

Because some states and localities

have adopted mandatory sick leave

policies, we can see that it has been ef-

fective in combating seasonal flu out-

breaks. According to a study by re-

searchers at Cornell University and the

Federal Institute of Technology in Zu-

rich, U.S. patients reporting flu-like

symptoms dropped an average of 11% in

the first year after local mandatory

leave policies were enacted.

The United States is a much more

entrepreneurial, individualistic and

less regulated society than many oth-

ers. For the most part, this serves us

well. In health care, however, this ap-

proach does us real harm. The millions

priced out of medical coverage pose a

threat to society during an outbreak.

Not mandating sick leave might

seem pro-business. But it is in fact anti-

health.

TODAY'S DEBATE: THE CORONAVIRUS

Our view: Require paid sick

leave, for the health of us all

Who’s covered?

SOURCE Pew Research Center

JANET LOEHRKE/USA TODAY

64%

71%

81%

91%

1-

50-

100-

500+

Size of business:

Number of employees/

percentage with paid sick leave

Government mandates often have
unintended consequences.
Take mandating paid sick leave in
response to the coronavirus. Even if it’s
temporary, it could further damage
businesses harmed by the virus — and
hurt the very workers it’s meant to help.
The vast majority — 86% of full-time
workers — already have access to paid
sick leave. The rest primarily work for
small employers or are part-time or
hourly workers.
Unfortunately, it’s small employers
and workers who don’t yet have sick
leave who could be most hurt by a fed-
eral mandate, and who wouldn’t be
helped by federally funded sick leave.
Small businesses that aren’t yet
profitable enough to provide paid sick
leave are more susceptible to disrup-
tion from coronavirus-related revenue
losses. A costly new mandate would
only add insult to injury.
Say a laundromat with five employ-
ees has two out sick for 15 days. Paying
the sick workers, paying overtime to
other workers and hiring a temporary
worker could mean that the business

can’t make payroll or pay its bills.

The incentive would be to lay off the

sick workers. But losing a job is a lot

worse than a missed paycheck.

Government-funded sick leave

wouldn’t work, either. Individuals who

cannot go days or weeks without a pay-

check cannot wait months for govern-

ment benefits, and employers who

can’t afford to provide paid sick leave

can’t wait until they file their next tax

return to receive a refund.

It makes sense for policymakers to

consider ways to protect American

families, but it’s not the time for big-

government politicians to exploit a cri-

sis in the name of political expediency.

A one-size-fits-all mandate can’t

provide the flexible and accommodat-

ing solutions that appropriately maxi-

mize the well-being of workers and em-

ployers. The two go hand in hand.

Alternatively, the Working Families

Flexibility Act would provide an entire-

ly optional way for workers to accrue

paid time off and for employers to

smooth their payroll costs over time.

Rachel Greszler is a research fellow

at The Heritage Foundation.

Opposing view:Costly new

mandate would hurt businesses

Rachel Greszler