ADVERTISEMENT
Patients Continue Seeking Ivermectin as COVID-19 Therapy, Pharmacy Associations Speak Out
The debate about ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 continues. Last fall, the American Medical Association, American Pharmacists Association, and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists banded together to release a statement strongly opposing the ordering, prescribing, or dispensing of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial.
“Ivermectin is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human use to treat infections caused by internal and external parasites. It is not approved to prevent or treat COVID-19,” reads the statement.
“Ivermectin is also available to treat certain veterinary conditions; medications formulated or intended for use in animals should not be used by humans. 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 addition, we are urging physicians, pharmacists, and other prescribers—trusted health care professionals in their communities—to warn patients against the use of ivermectin outside of FDA-approved indications and guidance, whether intended for use in humans or animals, as well as purchasing ivermectin from online stores. Veterinary forms of this medication are highly concentrated for large animals and pose a significant toxicity risk for humans.”
The statement goes on to say that the use of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 has “demonstrated to be harmful to patients” and “calls to poison control centers due to ivermectin ingestion have increased 5-fold from their pre-pandemic baseline.”
Numerous lawsuits have been filed by people seeking to force hospitals or medical providers to prescribe ivermectin, with varied results. Hospitals are also pushing back, stating that their standards do not allow administering an unproven and potentially harmful medication.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Population Health Learning Network or HMP Global, their employees, and affiliates. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, association, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything.
