For Immediate Release

Contact:
Sam Gerard, sgerard@americanhumanist.org, 202-238-9088 ext. 105

(Washington, DC, March 13, 2020)—In a victory against pseudoscience and fraudulent medical claims, Missouri and New York sued to halt sales of a pseudoscientific substance that televangelist Jim Bakker claimed could cure the COVID-19 coronavirus within twelve hours.

Additionally on Monday, the FDA sent Bakker a letter informing him that the “Silver Sol Liquid,” which Bakker claimed cured coronavirus, violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

“This is a small victory against pseudoscience. Bakker’s faith-based cures could lead people to dangerously assume they are healthy when they are not,” AHA President Sunil Panikkath said. “We are glad Missouri, New York, and the FDA are protecting people against quackery.”

Bakker’s website claims the substance—also known as “Silver Sol” or the “Optivida Silver Solution” could also cure SARS, HIV, and many other pathogens. The World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state there are no current cures or direct treatments for COVID-19 at this time.

Panikkath emphasized: “We hope that the administration and the CDC prioritizes efforts to take a proactive, science-based approach to tackle COVID-19 in the US.”

# # #

The American Humanist Association (AHA) works to protect the rights of humanists, atheists, and other nontheistic Americans. The AHA advances the ethical and life-affirming worldview of humanism, which—without beliefs in gods or other supernatural forces—encourages individuals to live informed and meaningful lives that aspire to the greater good of humanity.