It's a dewormer that some studies seem to indicate can lessen COVID symptoms. Different media sites focus on different parts of the previous statement.
Claim: Ivermectin, a dewormer medication most commonly used for horses, can cure COVID-19.
Places where the claim was made: Various studies, KETV News (tentatively)
Rating: UNPROVEN/Likely false
Explanation:
Ivermectin won a Nobel Prize in 2015 for its newly discovered ability to help humans fight infectious diseases. Some studies have suggested Ivermectin has the ability to cure COVID-19. One states,
"We report here that Ivermectin, an FDA-approved anti-parasitic previously shown to have broad-spectrum anti-viral activity in vitro, is an inhibitor of the causative virus (SARS-CoV-2), with a single addition to Vero-hSLAM cells 2 h post infection with SARS-CoV-2 able to effect ~5000-fold reduction in viral RNA at 48 h. Ivermectin therefore warrants further investigation for possible benefits in humans."
Another reports findings that seem to show benefits for COVID patients taking Ivermectin and Doxycycline. The authors say, "Combination of Ivermectin and doxycycline was found to be very effective in viral clearance in mild and moderately sick COVID-19 patients. Medical societies and institutions should undertake larger multi center studies to validate and recommend this combination therapy to include in national guidelines."
Here's one more. "Six of seven meta-analyses of IVM treatment RCTs reporting in 2021 found notable reductions in COVID-19 fatalities, with a mean 31% relative risk of mortality vs. controls. During mass IVM treatments in Peru, excess deaths fell by a mean of 74% over 30 days in its ten states with the most extensive treatments."
However, these studies have serious methodological problems, say Luis Ignacio Garegnani, Eva Madrid, and Nicolás Meza (along with some of the study authors themselves). "Most study results have been made publicly available as preprints or unpublished, with no peer review or formal editorial process. Others incorporated their results only in the clinical trial register, but nearly half of these randomised clinical trials had not been registered. Registering clinical trials before they begin and making results available fulfils a large number of purposes, like reducing publication and selective outcome reporting biases, promoting more efficient allocation of research funds and facilitating evidence syntheses that will inform stakeholders and decision-makers in the future," they write.
Right-wingers have endorsed Ivermectin. QAnon supporters have called for prescriptions of it.
The Left-wing news site VICE News called it "bogus" and identified it with "conspiracy theorists and the anti-vaxx community". However, CNN seems to report on it fairly (we have not, at press time, reviewed their article in detail).
Yuani M Roman, Paula Alejandra Burela, Vinay Pasupuleti, and several others have published a study in which they conclude:
"Compared with the standard of care or placebo, IVM [Ivermectin] did not reduce all-cause mortality, LOS, or viral clearance in RCTs in patients with mostly mild COVID-19. IVM did not have an effect on AEs or SAEs and is not a viable option to treat patients with COVID-19."
The FDA, AMA, and CDC all discourage taking Ivermectin for the purposes of treating COVID. The FDA says, "The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 in people or animals. Ivermectin has not been shown to be safe or effective for these indications. There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. It is not okay. Even the levels of ivermectin for approved human uses can interact with other medications, like blood-thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death."
And the AMA, along with the APhA and ASHP, states:
"We are alarmed by reports that outpatient prescribing for and dispensing of ivermectin have increased 24-fold since before the pandemic and increased exponentially over the past few months. As such, we are calling for an immediate end to the prescribing, dispensing, and use of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial."
In light of the above evidence and ongoing debate, we rate this claim UNPROVEN, with a reminder that it's most likely FALSE.
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