Since the use of an anti-parasite drug called ivermectin has risen in recent weeks to treat COVID, the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control has issued an advisory alerting doctors and potential patients not to use it.
In addition, the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently warned against using ivermectin to treat COVID. The agency tweeted last week: “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”
Andy Miller of Georgia Health News reports that the drug, used for roundworm infections and the mostly tropical disease known as river blindness, is not approved for COVID. In fact, the Georgia Poison Center has fielded 23 calls so far in August related to ivermectin, as compared with ‘‘less than a handful’’ in a typical year, said Gaylord Lopez, director of the center. Many of the calls have come from people with symptoms linked to ingesting the drug. “They’re calling and telling me they’re vomiting, they’re [feeling] faint. Having double vision,’’ Lopez said Friday.
Miller also reports that the CDC found that more than 88,000 prescriptions nationally were written for ivermectin in the week ending August 13, a 24-fold increase over the weekly average prior to the pandemic.
Although many have been getting doctor’s prescriptions, some people are getting ivermectin from farm supply stores since it’s used to de-worm pets and livestock. One patient showed a picture that looked like an antifreeze container. “It had a sheep on it,’’ Lopez said.
