FDA issues "strong warning" about potentially deadly drug side effects

I'm sorry to report yet another half-hearted warning by the FDA in the case of a potentially deadly side effect in not one but FOUR prescription drugs used by rheumatoid arthritis sufferers – Humria, Cimzia, Enbrel, and Remicade. The drugs suppress the immune system and could expose patients to serious fungal infections.

How deadly? The FDA has received 240 reports of histoplasmosis (a serious type of fungal infection) – 12 of them fatal.

What's amazing to me is that, in spite of the fact that the fungus that causes infection is commonly found in the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys, the FDA didn't even consider a temporary regional ban on the drugs in question. Instead, they've once again opted to go with the Big Pharma-friendly (and patient-be-damned) route of the "stronger warning."

I've got a warning for you – don't rely on the FDA to keep you safe.

Always attacking the fungus of Big Government,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.
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Boren's Laws of the Bureaucracy: 1. When in doubt, mumble. 2. When in trouble, delegate. 3. When in charge, ponder.