Ivermectin - A Wonder Drug Against COVID Or Just Another Case Hype Without Any Actual Benefit
According to a study, regular use of the oral antiparasitic drug Ivermectin can help in reducing the risk of contracting coronavirus.
Over the past one-and-a-half years the people around the world have shown that they are willing to do whatever it takes to prevent catching COIVD-19 or to prevent deaths from it.
Be it 'scientific or plain stupid like injecting disinfectant as Donald Trump suggested, all these have some takers.
AP
In the absence of a proper medicine to treat COVID-19, scientists and doctors across the world have been trying out different existing drugs, which initially showed some promise, but later turned out to be useless.
Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir and Plasma therapy etc had initially shown some success, but in the long run, have proven ineffective against COVID-19.
Now there is a new entrant into the game - Ivermectin, a medication used to treat many types of parasite infestation.
Medical News
What is Ivermectin?
According to a study, regular use of the oral antiparasitic drug Ivermectin can help in reducing the risk of contracting coronavirus. The research, published in the May-June issue of the American Journal of Therapeutics, is the most comprehensive review of the available data on Ivermectin taken from clinical, in vitro, animal, and real-world studies, its authors said.
Ivermectin for everyone?
On Monday, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that all people above 18 years in the statewill be given Ivermectin drug irrespective of their coronavirus status to bring down mortality.
He said patients will be given Ivermectin 12 mg for a period of five days as expert panels from the UK, Italy, Spain and Japan have found a statistically significant reduction in mortality, time to recovery and viral clearance in COVID-19 patients treated with this medicine.
Medical News
"I have given instructions for immediate implementation of prophylaxis (action taken to prevent disease) treatment," Rane said.
The minister said this treatment would not prevent COVID-19 infection but it can help reduce the severity.
"The Ivermectin 12 mg tablet will be made available in all the district, sub-district, PHCs, CHCs, sub-health centres, rural dispensaries for people to collect and start treatment immediately, irrespective of any symptoms or anything," Rane said.
But this has many in the medical community alarmed.
OMG!
¡ª Madhu Pai, MD, PhD (@paimadhu) May 10, 2021
This is totally unscientific & dangerous!
Goa government wants all residents 18+ to take Ivermectin, as prevention!https://t.co/Vj484OpDsi
They point out that not only Ivermectin does not have many benefits, but could even be dangerous.
Y #Ivermectin doesn't work
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@drabbyphilips) May 11, 2021
1 #ivermectin craze 4 #COVID19India started in South-America, spread like wildfire to USA/Europe. Heavily criticized in countries upholding #science, didnt find place in guidelines. BUT, nw it reached #India, into minds/hearts of doctors not due to... pic.twitter.com/fWbJL7sBLL
3 Ivermectin is broad-spectrum antiparasitic approved by @US_FDA, proved to be safe at dose of ¡Ü200??g/kg. In a 60 kg man, the max conventional dose in 12 mg.
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@drabbyphilips) May 11, 2021
Caly et al (not Baba Ramdev) https://t.co/lXrhbBJIis identified in-vitro (cell study) anti-#SARSCoV2 ivermectin activity
5 For #ivermectin 2 show #anticovid effect 0.5?M concentration is warranted. EVEN WITH dosing at 1700??g/kg (nine times more than FDA approved/ = to 102 mg / V R using 12mg?) the 'effective' concentration of #ivermectin reached is only measly 0.28?Mhttps://t.co/o3iXvsHQCS
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@drabbyphilips) May 11, 2021
7 Nw in real life, A LOT of #ivermectin publications are mostly pre-prints, un-reviewed, unpublished and part of #IVERMECTIN craze groups webpages/websites. This is not #science and quoting or linking these show the paucity in #scientific temper of the person sharing these. pic.twitter.com/rHwNj07K1f
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@drabbyphilips) May 11, 2021
9...??control groups received different comparators ranging frm placebo to even #HydroxyChloroquine absolutely USELESS (but still prescribed by physicians like @drakchaurasia) drug for #COVID19
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@drabbyphilips) May 11, 2021
??in gud pooled analyses, certainty of evidence was very low due 2 high risk of bias
11
¡ª TheLiverDoc (@drabbyphilips) May 11, 2021
One such, FLCCC is a fraud, grifter [someone who cheats others out of money/ also known as chiselers, defrauders, gougers, scammers, swindlers] organization wich publish #ivermectin data on their webpage, fleece people of their hard earned money, unleashing radicalization... pic.twitter.com/o0LuBsVybS
What WHO said
In March this year, the WHO had said that "current evidence on the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19 patients is inconclusive. Until more data is available, WHO recommends that the drug only be used within clinical trials."
This recommendation, which applies to patients with COVID-19 of any disease severity, is now part of WHO¡¯s guidelines on COVID-19 treatments.
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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