Aug 8, 2023
(CN) — Counsel for three doctors who prescribe ivermectin to treat Covid-19 told the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday the Food and Drug Administration overstepped its authority with a public information campaign against taking the drug.
The widespread illness and deaths attributed to Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, have spawned some dubious treatment ideas.
Then-President Donald Trump infamously suggested in an April 2020 press briefing that injecting bleach might be a viable option to clear the virus out of one’s lungs.
That same month, a group of Australian medical researchers published the results of a study they concluded showed ivermectin — a drug used to treat and prevent parasites in horses and cows and approved by the FDA to get rid of parasitic worms in people — inhibits replication of the coronavirus.
The FDA has also authorized using the drug topically to treat head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.
But after receiving numerous reports of people ending up in the hospital after taking large doses of over-the-counter ivermectin intended for livestock, the FDA launched a public awareness initiative.
It published an advisory titled “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent Covid-19,” and sent letters to the Federation of State Medical Boards and National Association of Boards of Pharmacy directing them to read the missive.
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