That is not a safe assumption. The history of medicine is absolutely loaded with ineffective and harmful treatments that persisted in use for centuries, and they ain’t all ancient history. Doctorin’ be difficult, yo.
Aloe vera doesn’t appear to have any significant effect on wound/burn healing, but it appears safe enough to use as an external symptomatic treatment. From personal anecdote, it’s a very fast acting and effective agent for the short-term relief of pain from sunburn; sorbolene or the like would probably do just as well, though.
This is the best review I can find of the current state of evidence regarding external use of aloe vera:
The Cochrane Library meta-analyses are the gold standard when it comes to medical science; always worth a check.
This is rather notably bullshit. Some FDA Directors - especially GOP appointees - have tried to politicize the agency, but pathways for approval of vaccines and drugs lead through a completely public process and the various committees in charge are expert, apolitical, with minimal representation from the drug industry, contrary to the propaganda from the billion-dollar “naturopathy” snake-oil industry and anti-vaxx morons. Here, for example, is the panel responsible for approving vaccines.
