A Detroit-area medical office was raided Thursday by the FBI after it advertised that it would provide vitamin C treatments to either prevent or cure COVID-19.
The raid was conducted by FBI agents wearing protective clothing to prevent exposure to the coronavirus, according to WXYZ.
No one was arrested on Thursday, but FBI agents removed boxes from the office that appeared to contain medical records.
“The investigation includes allegations that the clinic provided fraudulent treatments for COVID-19, and that the clinic did not observe proper protocols to protect patients and staff from the virus,” Mara Schneider, and FBI spokeswoman, said according to WWJN.
“If any patients or staff have any concerns about their health or exposure to COVID-19, we urge them to consult a trusted health care provider immediately,” Schneider said.
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One woman defended the office, Allure Medical, which offers treatments for a number of conditions.
“I’ve gone there for several years and always found them to be so welcoming and helpful and informative,” Nancy Smith, an Allure patient, told WJBK.
Although Oregon State University researcher Adrian Gombart has said that vitamin C can play a role in fighting off disease as part of overall good nutrition, according to KGW, the National Institutes of Health has reported that a study to test vitamin C’s ability to help COVID-19 patients has yet to be determined and is now the subject of a clinical trial.
On April 23, SRQ magazine included an article about the vitamin C treatment.
“Allure Medical is providing high-dose intravenous vitamin C therapy to all frontline employees who are at risk of contracting COVID-19 and to existing COVID-19 patients,” the article said.
“We are using high-dose IV vitamin C to help support peoples’ immune systems and to help those with the virus recover quicker. We want to provide this treatment to those who need it, regardless of their ability to pay,” the article quoted Dr. Charles Mok, founder of Allure Medical, as saying.
The article claimed that, “High-dose intravenous vitamin C is becoming the standard of care for patients.”
Mok had extolled the virtues of his treatment to WJBK in an interview that had not aired at the time of the raid, but was subsequently published.
“I’m mostly seeing people that are mild to moderate illness and they turn around pretty quick usually after one or two doses they are remarkably better,” Mok said. “We are giving them more of an immune booster, an intravenous high dose vitamin C, we are also using things like zinc and glutathione and a B complex.”
When the station was allowed to witness a treatment, it said Mok told the individual being treated he would be “supercharged”
Mok had said in that interview he was mostly focused on treating first responders and health care workers.
“Those essential workers are protecting us so we want to protect them,” he said.
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