For the first time, a federal health panel recommended against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 despite reports that it has successfully been used to treat the virus.
In a statement published last week, the National Institute of Health’s COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel said that as the “safety and efficacy of ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 have been evaluated in clinical trials and observational cohorts,” it “recommends against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19, except in clinical trials.”
Ivermectin, which is generally well-tolerated and has mild side effects, was primarily developed to treat several tropical diseases and parasites, including onchocerciasis, helminthiases, and scabies. But since the start of the pandemic, some COVID-19 patients said they took the drug and saw positive results. Meanwhile, a Japanese study published in January 2022 suggests the drug has an antiviral effect against the Omicron variant, although another clinical, peer-reviewed study found the medication “did not prevent” severe instances of COVID-19.
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