COVID-19 Claims In Instagram By OTC IV Provider
Executive Summary
After challenging claims made in Instagram post and advised business offering walk-in and by-appointment services at multiple NYC locations, NAD referred its questions to regulators after the firm failed to provide substantiation.
A New York business offering OTC intravenous drips of vitamin blends promoted to prevent COVID-19 infections apparently escaped US regulators’ attention but appeared on the radar of an industry self-regulation group asking federal agencies to investigate.
A BBB National Programs Inc. investigative arm on 30 July reported that IV Drips, Customized IV Hydration & Wellness didn’t respond to its request for substantiation of claims made in social media posts including “Protect Yourself & Your Loved Ones; Boost Your Immune System," and associated text stating “Trump Declares National Emergency Over COVID-19” and “Stay Safe. Stay Healthy. Strengthen your first line of defense with an immunity Drip.”
The National Advertising Division, which challenged the claims made in an Instagram post as part of its ongoing monitoring of consumer product advertising, advised the business, which offers walk-in and by-appointment services at multiple locations in New York City, that the claims “conveyed the implied message that IV Drips protect users against the novel coronavirus or COVID-19.”
“Despite repeated outreach attempts, the [business] did not submit a substantive response to NAD’s inquiry,” according to the report. As BBB National investigative divisions do when businesses fail to comply with their recommendations to halt or modify ad claims or to respond to requests for substantiation, NAD is sending its questions about IV Drips, Customized IV’s claims to the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration.
The federal agencies are not compelled to investigate businesses BBB National divisions refer. Both the FDA and the FTC have, during the novel coronavirus pandemic, have warned numerous businesses around the country about claims that their OTC IV drip blends could prevent or treat COVID-19. (Also see "US COVID-19 Fraud: Licorice Promoted As Treatment, Unapproved Tests Offered OTC" - HBW Insight, 18 Jun, 2020.)