Author who said bleach cures Covid, cancer to speak at Donald Trump's private golf resort
US President Donald Trump's private golf resort in Florida is set to host a speaker who promotes the use of industrial bleach as a cure for cancer, Covid, and autism, The Guardian has reported.
Andreas Kalcker, a German citizen believed to live in Switzerland, will be one of about 50 speakers at the 'Truth Seekers Conference' starting Thursday at Trump National Doral Miami. The event will bring together several anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists and is organised by far-right commentator Charlie Ward.
Kalcker markets a product called 'CDS', short for chlorine dioxide solution, which he admits is a disinfectant. He claims it can 'eliminate pathogens' that cause disease and has described it as 'possibly the greatest medical discovery of the last 100 years', according to The Guardian.
Also read | Why spraying bleach on mould can 'create one of the most a toxic mixtures' (and what you should do instead)
However, health officials in the United States and Spain have strongly warned against it. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said chlorine dioxide is effectively no different from drinking bleach and can cause life-threatening side effects like dehydration, diarrhoea, and kidney damage.
Kalcker's appearance at the conference highlights how dangerous alternative health claims have been growing during Trump's second term in office. Trump's controversial decision to appoint Robert Kennedy Jr, a known vaccine sceptic, as head of the Department of Health and Human Services, has already worried many health experts.
Kennedy, who used to lead the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, praised Trump's pandemic response and said he had looked at 'all of the different remedies including even chlorine dioxide'. He also spoke about treating measles outbreaks with cod liver oil and praised doctors who allegedly 'healed' hundreds of measles cases with inhaled steroids – all without evidence.
Kennedy's comments helped clarify a puzzling moment from Trump's first term when he famously suggested using disinfectant 'by injection' to fight Covid during a White House briefing in April 2020.
Since Trump's return to the White House, there has been a sharp increase in government censorship of science information. Several public health websites have been taken offline, including an FDA page warning that chlorine dioxide is a 'powerful bleach typically used for industrial water treatment'. However, a 2019 press release warning against the chemical can still be found online.
Kalcker has built a wide customer base across Latin America and sells his product using scientific-sounding language. He calls himself 'Dr Kalcker' and claims to specialise in 'electromolecular medicine'. He also runs a training centre promoting claims that chlorine dioxide can cure autism, Parkinson's disease, and vaccine injuries, though none of these claims are supported by evidence.
Fiona O'Leary, a campaigner against pseudoscience and mother of autistic children, told The Guardian: 'Kalcker presents himself as a doctor, is very clever, and has created a product that sounds and looks plausible. But at the same time he is promoting the lunatic idea that autism is caused by parasites.'
Kalcker faced legal trouble in Argentina in 2021, when he was investigated and charged after the death of a five-year-old boy whose parents gave him chlorine dioxide.
At the Trump Doral event, Kalcker is expected not only to speak but also to sell books promoting his product. Trump's resort to ask if it was appropriate to host such an event, but no response was received.
Charlie Ward, who organised the conference, is known for spreading conspiracy theories and is an associate of Trump's son, Eric Trump. In 2022, he controversially claimed that 'more people have been killed by the jab than were killed in the Holocaust', The Guardian reported.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
12 minutes ago
- Hans India
42 new Covid-19 cases in Delhi
New Delhi: The capital continues to witness a steady stream of new COVID-19 cases. In the last 24 hours, 42 fresh infections were recorded in Delhi, while 104 patients recovered during the same period. Importantly, no Covid-related deaths were reported, providing a much-needed sigh of relief amid lingering concerns about the new variants. The total number of active Covid-19 cases in Delhi has now risen to 728, while 1,128 patients have recovered since January. The death toll for 2024 remains at 7, with no additional fatalities reported in the latest update. Though the current strain of the virus is reportedly milder and manifests symptoms similar to seasonal influenza, health experts caution that it still poses a serious risk to individuals with pre-existing health conditions or weakened immunity. Just days ago, Delhi recorded two fatalities linked to Covid-19. One of the victims was a five-month-old male infant suffering from multiple severe ailments, including seizures, pneumonia, and respiratory failure. The second victim was an 87-year-old man with heart and kidney disease, as well as severe Covid-induced pneumonia. Both patients tested positive for Covid-19 while undergoing treatment for their respective conditions, which ultimately proved fatal. Doctors reiterate that while most healthy individuals recover without complications, senior citizens and those with chronic illnesses should remain cautious and avoid unnecessary exposure. In neighboring Gautam Buddha Nagar district (Noida), three new Covid-19 cases were confirmed, raising the active caseload to 222. Among the infected, 142 are men and 80 are women. Most of these patients are recovering in home isolation, with only six currently hospitalized.
India Today
27 minutes ago
- India Today
India's active Covid cases at 6,491, Kerala remains worst-hit, Gujarat sees sharp uptick
Covid-19 cases in India continued to witness an uptick, with 358 cases being reported in the past 24 hours and the active tally rose to 6,491, according to the Union Health Ministry. However, no deaths were recorded in the same witnessed a sharp uptick in active Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, with 158 new cases recorded, according to Health Ministry data. Kerala remained the worst-hit state with seven cases reported in the same period, pushing the active cases to 1, one of the affected places due to a sharp rise in active Covid-19 cases, reported 42 cases in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said. On Monday, the number of active Covid-19 cases in India crossed the 6,000 mark, with 378 new cases registered in the past 24 hours. However, six deaths were recorded in the same states which saw a rise in active cases included West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, Odisha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Punjab and Tripura did not report any Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, as per the Health Ministry many as 624 people were discharged in the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of recoveries to 6, newly emerging Covid-19 variant, XFG, has been detected in India, according to INSACOG data. So far, 163 cases have been identified from over 6,000-odd cases in the new variant, which harbours four key spike mutations, has achieved rapid global spread following its initial detection in Canada, according to an article in The Lancet experts have advised people having comorbidities, senior citizens and those vulnerable to wear face masks in crowded places and use hand sanitisers regularly.(with inputs from PTI)Tune InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Covid-19
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Chandigarh: Need to draw lessons from Covid-19 to prepare for future pandemics, says Dr VK Paul
While addressing 63 professionals gathered to attend fourth Postgraduate International Vaccinology Course, Dr Vinod Kumar Paul, member of NITI Aayog, focussed on drawing lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and preparing for future pandemics. The course is being organised by the department of community medicine and school of public health of PGIMER. In the inaugural ceremony, connecting through video call, Dr Paul highlighted the Indian journey of building Covid-19 vaccine and how India navigated through the pandemic in his keynote address. He said, 'During Covid-19, the vaccine was developed in about 9 months globally and we were in step the global time, but next time around it has to be developed within 100 days of the pandemic being declared. For that we have to work hard today. You need to keep your clinical trials ready, study immune response, biology of potential pathogens, keep the labs ready and create capacity within the industry.' He added, 'During Covid-19 pandemic, nobody came to our rescue, there were hardly any vaccines to be offered to India. We survived because we produced our home vaccines, we survived because we had the capabilities.' Dr Paul emphasised on delivering the vaccine within 100 days whenever the pandemic like situation occurs in future. Dr Rajeev Raghuvanshi, drug controller general of India, delivered the address emphasising the importance of innovation, regulation, and India's leadership in vaccine research. The five-day academic event aims to be a transformative learning experience, equipping participants with advanced knowledge and practical insights in the field of vaccinology.
