By Kelly Hayes
FloridaPolitics.com
August 29, 2021
Florida’s Poison Control Center has treated 27 ivermectin-related cases in August alone.
Florida Poison Control is reporting a significant uptick in cases and calls related to “inappropriate use of ivermectin made for livestock” after misinformation spread on social media continues to tout the anti-parasitic as an alternative treatment for COVID-19.
Ivermectin is a drug often used in livestock like horses and cows to treat parasites. The drug has not been approved for treatment of COVID-19, with the Food and Drug Administration releasing a statement emphasizing that is only approved for human consumption at specific dosages as an anti-parasitic in rare circumstances.
If taken incorrectly, the drug could have negative side effects in humans, who are typically much smaller than the animals the drug is used to treat.
Florida’s Poison Control Center has treated 27 ivermectin-related cases in August alone, which is more cases tied to the drug than the center saw in all of last year. Most of those cases involved the use of the livestock drug, which can be accessed at local feed stores, since the human dosage requires a prescription.
Despite the danger associated with improper usage of the medicine, some on social media point to the drug as a “miracle treatment” for coronavirus.
While some researchers have done some surface-level investigations between the drug and COVID-19, clinical trials of the drug “yielded insufficient evidence” to treat the virus.
Most often, those spreading the false claim of ivermectin’s effectiveness cite the Antiviral Research pre-publication paper, “The FDA-approved drug ivermectin inhibits the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro.”
That research article described the effect of ivermectin on SARS-CoV-2 in a laboratory setting, according to the FDA.
“This type of study is commonly used in the early stages of drug development. Ivermectin was not given to people or animals in this study,” the FDA said. “Additional testing is needed to determine whether ivermectin might be safe or effective to prevent or treat coronavirus or COVID-19.”
Ivermectin manufacturer Merck, added that there is “no meaningful evidence for clinical activity or efficacy in patients with COVID-19.”
Since then, the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have both issued warnings against self-medicating with ivermectin, prompting the FDA to tweet, “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it.”
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried has offered a response to the uptick in calls to the Florida Poison Control Center due to ivermectin and is urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to publicly disavow the use of the drug in treating COVID-19.
“I urge the Governor to disavow those promoting false cures, and instead listen to the scientists and medical community when it comes to preventing and treating COVID-19 – promoting the safe and effective vaccines and encouraging mask wearing,” she said in a statement.
DeSantis has also come under fire for his relationship with a California psychiatrist who is promoting the use of the drug for treatment of COVID-19. That psychiatrist, Dr. Mark McDonald, was one of several out-of-state advisers who provided the Governor guidance amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“The promotion of inappropriate use of this drug is irresponsible, reckless, and dangerous. There is no public health or scientific support for its use to treat or prevent COVID-19, and there are serious safety concerns when it comes to self-medicating and humans using medications intended for animals,” Fried continued.
She continued by urging individuals to speak with their doctors about treatments, not to rely on information found online.
“Individuals should look to their medical doctors when it comes to medical treatments – not online quacks. We must not allow a platform for such misinformation that is putting the well-being of Floridians at risk,” she said.
To note, the center has also seen an increase in calls from people who have taken too much zinc in an attempt to boost immunity. The center is urging people to follow the recommended daily dose to avoid complications.
Symptoms of adverse reactions from ivermectin include headache, dizziness, lethargy, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Severe or life-threatening effects include seizures, coma, low blood pressure and respiratory failure.
For poison emergencies, immediately call the Florida Poison Control Center at 1-800-222-1222, or text POISON to 797979.
Some people will believe in just about anything except for what they actually need to believe in.
Readers should study for themselves the curative effects of Ivermectin and other non allowed drugs. Thousands are being cured, but you are not allowed to save yourself. You are only allowed to follow what the culture allows.
As you can see, you are not encouraged to be your own advocate. We are told that so many are dying under Standard of Care, but the hospitals will not deviate from SOC to help.
Anti parasitic drugs directly assisted my wife recover without hospitalization, in just 2 weeks, and she has serious pre existing conditions.
There is something else going on, I can’t imagine that so many are allowed to die without trying alternative treatments. Fried is just trying to make press.
It’s amazing to me the total lack of logic and intelligence in this. You won’t be vaccinated because you “don’t know what’s in it or how it will effect people” despite the Covid vaccines are THE most studied and most throughly tested vaccines in history. Yet you will self treat with an unproven drug (sorry, anecdotal is NOT tested) that you have NO CLUE what it contains; a drug developed for ANIMALS (who are the sheep now?) that contains components not ever tested for safety in humans.
Yes, Ivermectin has been successfully used in humans to treat head lice, scabies, onchocerciasis, strongyloidiasis, trichuriasis, ascariasis and lymphatic filariasis- all PARASITES. In every case the dosage and formulation is very different than the paste you buy in the farm store.
There is NO PROOF here that Ivermectin “cured” your wife. In fact, for every person who can claim they were cured, there are more who were not.
Unless and until I see your published, valid, peer-reviewed study on Ivermectin, you are just another fool who is willing to take medical advice from people with zero training or education in any valid medical or scientific field yet you likely would never dream of having a home wired by anyone other than a licensed electrician, plumbed by anyone other than an actual plumber or take your computerized car to anyone other than a qualified mechanic.
So, thanks, Dr. Darwin, I’ll continue to take my medical advice from actual doctors and researchers and I’ll save the Ivermectin for the livestock.
Actually, COVID vaccines are the LEAST studied vaccines in history. These vaccines are more experimental than tested. Vaccine testing normally takes roughly 10 year before release. For detailed data re: it’s effectiveness, see ivmmeta where you can analyze 63 studies covering over 26,000 patients where the results show overwhelmingly that it is an effective treatment and preventative for COVID. Also see the FLCCC website where you can read information from actual front line doctors who developed protocols using Ivermectin. Also as an FYI, hospitals are using Ivermectin to treat covid along with other medications. You can choose to remain blissfully ignorant, or read my comment above and do a bit of research, including the VAERS analysis, which is not exactly comforting with respect to vaccine safety despite all the caveats surrounding VAERS.
Keep digging.
BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, which is a Plan S compliant Transformative Journal, had this to say: (edited to allow for referenced links)
Different websites (such as ivmmeta dot com, c19ivermectin dot com, traramientotemprano dot org, among others) have conducted meta-analyses with ivermectin studies, showing unpublished colourful forest plots which rapidly gained public acknowledgement and were disseminated via social media, without following any methodological or report guidelines. These websites do not include protocol registration with methods, search strategies, inclusion criteria, quality assessment of the included studies nor the certainty of the evidence of the pooled estimates. Prospective registration of systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis protocols is a key feature for providing transparency in the review process and ensuring protection against reporting biases, by revealing differences between the methods or outcomes reported in the published review and those planned in the registered protocol. These websites show pooled estimates suggesting significant benefits with ivermectin, which has resulted in confusion for clinicians, patients and even decision-makers. This is usually a problem when performing meta-analyses which are not based in rigorous systematic reviews, often leading to spread spurious or fallacious findings.36
ivmmeta has long been debunked as an unreliable source. See BMJ Journals.
See American Journal of Therapeutics, ivmmeta, and FLCCC website. The evidence is overwhelming.
From the American Journal of Therapeutics – July/August 2021:
“Moderate-certainty evidence finds that large reductions in COVID-19 deaths are possible using ivermectin. Using ivermectin early in the clinical course may reduce numbers progressing to severe disease. “
Definition of “moderate-certainty evidence”:
“Moderate certainty of the evidence means that the likelihood is moderate that the effect will be different enough from what the research found that it might affect a decision.”
In short, your statement that, “The evidence is overwhelming” does not hold up to scrutiny even by your own sources.
Please note that the American Journal of Therapeutics, in its review of ivermection, states: “We searched bibliographic databases up to April 25, 2021. One of the bibliographic databases is the highly respected Cochrane. Cochrane published a finding on July 28th (well after the April date in the AJT), in which it stated:
“Based on the current very low‐ to low‐certainty evidence, we are uncertain about the efficacy and safety of ivermectin used to treat people with COVID‐19 in the inpatient and outpatient settings and to prevent a SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in people after having high‐risk exposure. There is also no evidence available from the study pool as to which is the best dose and regimen of ivermectin. Overall, the reliable evidence available does not support the use of ivermectin for treatment or prevention of COVID‐19 outside of well‐designed randomized controlled trials (RCTs).”
The American Journal of Therapeutics report on Ivermectin dated July/August 2021 states that it gathered data from databases, including Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, up to April 25, 2021.
Cochrane published a paper on July 28th titled, “Ivermectin for preventing and treating COVID‐19″. In that paper the author concluded:
“Based on the current very low‐ to low‐certainty evidence, we are uncertain about the efficacy and safety of ivermectin used to treat or prevent COVID‐19. The completed studies are small and few are considered high quality. Several studies are underway that may produce clearer answers in review updates. Overall, the reliable evidence available does not support the use of ivermectin for treatment or prevention of COVID‐19 outside of well‐designed randomized trials.”
“Jessica Wallace told the newspaper her husband began experiencing Covid symptoms on 26 July but refused to get tested or go to the hospital. He instead took high doses of Vitamin C, zinc, aspirin and ivermectin.”
“He was taken to an emergency room on 30 July. Since 8 August he had been unconscious and on a ventilator.”
He died the 28th.
He was 30 years old with no pre-existing conditions.
THIS is why anecdotal stories like yours mean NOTHING.
The article fails to mention anywhere that Nikki Fried is running for Governor. A political potshot or true concern?
Dave, she IS the agriculture commissioner and was just doing her job. YOU are the one who is making this political. Maybe Nikki Fried knows people like you would never listen to her even though she is the knowledgeable state official when it comes to animal medication. I am willing to bet it is not her supporters that are taking this quack remedy for COVID. Maybe she knows DeSantis will have more influence with those who are.
BTW, Fried’s statement was pretty apolitical. She could have accused him of making the current system worse, but did NOT. She did not accuse him of promoting the drug. She simple asked him to discourage “those who are promoting it” from doing so.
But he probably didn’t hear her because he was at a fundraiser in NJ yesterday. Dave, that is what a political dig looks like.
See my comment above. Yes, Ivermectin is a veterinarian medication, but it has also been formulated for human use and had been administered nearly 4 billion times over the last 34-35 years. It is in fact a very safe medication, but like all medications, correct dosages must be administered, and people should not be taking medications formulated for veterinarian use.
Please quote one peer reviewed study in which Ivermectin has been used to TREAT COVID-19. Aspirin has been administered billions of times for a lot of purposes, but I would not rely on it to treat COVID. Same for Penicillin. Same for most anti-biotics.
And for the record, the mRNA platform was 30 years in the making. Please stop suggesting it is something that magically appeared a year ago.
Simply go to the American Journal of Therapeutics and search on Ivermectin Peer Reivew. Also take the time to read through the ivmmeta site, and the FLCCC site. Downplaying Ivermectin’s efficacy is what is dangerous. The evidence is overwhelming that it greatly improves outcomes. Do a bit more reading.
I guess you missed this part of the article you recommended.
“Despite these mounting insights into the existing and potential mechanisms of action of ivermectin both as a prophylactic and treatment agent, it must be emphasized that significant research gaps remain and that many further in vitro and animal studies should be undertaken to better define not only these mechanisms but also to further support ivermectin‘s role as a prophylactic agent, especially in the optimal dose and frequency required.”
So it is far more experimental than the mRNA vaccines which have been more broadly tested and a proven level of efficacy.
If this stuff gets rid of parasites, we should give it to Congress. Other than Congress’ taking it, if you want to take it, the gene pool gets cleaner. It astounds how people would rather believe social media than science. Dumb.
For those interested in actually learning something other than what the authorities want us to know, here is some useful information. First, search on Ivermectin the wonder drug and you will find several reports, but look for the one from NCBI from 2011, and one published in Nature dated 2017, well before all the political nonsense around everything COVID. From the 2011 report: ” Ivermectin has continually proved to be astonishingly safe for human use. Indeed, it is such a safe drug, with minimal side effects, that it can be administered by non-medical staff and even illiterate individuals in remote rural communities, provided that they have had some very basic, appropriate training. This fact has helped contribute to the unsurpassed beneficial impact that the drug has had on human health and welfare around the globe, especially with regard to the campaign to fight Onchocerciasis (River Blindness).
Both reports provide a history of it’s use, with the second providing some discussion around off-label uses. The drug is FDA approved – just not yet for Ivermection, is on the WHO list of essential medications, has been administered safely nearly 4 billion times over nearly 40 years, has an extraordinary safety profile, and the developers received the Nobel prize for medicine in 2015. While it is correct to state that taking a medication intended for veterinarian use is likely dangerous, it is disingenuous to label Ivermectin as dangerous when prescribed properly by a doctor. Dosages for horses and cattle will be much higher than dosages for humans, but that does not mean the medication is dangerous when taking the appropriate dosage for humans. If you take too many aspirins, tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc., you will experience harsh side effects as well.
As to following the science and the medical community, it is not hard to find many doctors who are prescribing Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine, because they have both been found to be effective for early treatment as well as preventatives. For those liking to dig through data, go to ivmmeta for a detailed list of trials and discussion. You can also click on the HcQ tab to look at studies for it’s use.
For a full discussion and protocols using Ivermectin, go to FLCCC website where there is a wealth of information, and where you can find a list of doctors around the country who will prescribe it.
So, why all the push back about Ivermectin? One reason, people need to use a little common sense and not take a medication formulated for veterinarian use, but instead, find a doctor who will help you determine if its appropriate for you, and if so, will prescribe an appropriate dosage for the medication formulated for human use. Another likely reason, in my opinion, is money. The ugly truth is that treating COVID with a cheap generic drug is not a sustainable business model. To re-purpose the drug would require new, very expensive clinical trials. No pharma company is going to spend millions to re-purpose the drug for COVID only to have a generic manufacturer ride their coattails since Ivermectin went off-patent in 1996. There’s just too much money to be made selling annual booster shots to the world. Plus, the pharmas can’t be held liable for adverse effects of the vaccines [still unknown]. A huge win-win for them. Do you think that Merck’s statement on their website advising against the use of Ivermectin to treat covid has anything to do with their being awarded a $1.2 billion contract to develop a treatment that does what the FLCCC doctors say Ivermectin already does?
And one last thing that the authorities and most micro tyrants about everything covid don’t want you to know is the reported adverse effects after being vaccinated. For a wealth of analysis of VAERS data, search vaersanalysis dot info.
So, to sum up, you can do a bit of reading and research to become more informed, or you can remain blissfully ignorant and follow whichever political wind you choose.
Apparently y’all haven’t seen the story about the Wayne County, Georgia, Sheriff’s Captain who refused the vaccine but took the horse stuff and passed away.
https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-anti-vaxx-cop-took-ivermectin-dies-of-covid-19-2021-8
If you support using Ivermectin . . . and also considering a vasectomy . . . just have someone drop you off at the veterinarian’s office. In and out within an hour and a lot cheaper.