Ivermectin Maker Says, We Have No Data It Is Safe To Treat COVID
Health officials are doing all they can to reach folks taking ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID. The National Poison Data System (NPDS), collects info from 55 poison control centers across the nation and reported there's been a 245% jump (from 133 to 459) in ivermectin reported exposures. Misinformation and disinformation concerning the use of the drug leading to overdoses and hospitalizations for poisoning. Stop using ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID is the overall message health officials are trying to get out. It is not safe!
Joining the fight to inform the masses is the maker of the ivermectin. Merck released a statement earlier this year advising people not to take ivermectin to treat COVID. They said definitively...
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today affirmed its position regarding use of ivermectin during the COVID-19 pandemic. Company scientists continue to carefully examine the findings of all available and emerging studies of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 for evidence of efficacy and safety. It is important to note that, to-date, our analysis has identified:
-No scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against -COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies;
-No meaningful evidence for clinical activity or clinical efficacy in patients with COVID-19 disease, and;
A concerning lack of safety data in the majority of studies.
We do not believe that the data available support the safety and efficacy of ivermectin beyond the doses and populations indicated in the regulatory agency-approved prescribing information.
In addition to Merck, the CDC has issued health advisories, the FDA took to Twitter, and the World Health Organization also issued warnings against the use of ivermectin. This growing health emergency, is the last thing hospitals across the nation need. Last week the American Medicine Association, American Pharmacist Association, and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists released the following statement urging people to stop using ivermectin to treat COVID...
Strongly oppose the ordering, prescribing, or dispensing of ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 outside of a clinical trial. Ivermectin is approved by the U.S. 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. 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.
Will all of this advice resonate? Will people listen?
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Gallery Credit: Madison Troyer