A 74-year-old COVID-19 patient in Texas has died amid his family’s insistence for him to be treated with ivermectin.
Pete Lopez’s family said he was prescribed ivermectin by VA Medical Center but was admitted to Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Hospital before he could take it. The family won a court order on September 3 for the hospital to treat the man with the horse dewormer medication, but say the hospital still refused to administer it.
Lopez had been at Memorial Hermann for almost a month, and had been on a ventilator since August 19.
Lopez’s granddaughter, Gabrielle Snider, said they exhausted all options. That’s why they pushed for the hospital to use ivermectin.
The family has not stated whether Lopez was vaccinated or not.
The FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in COVID-19 patients.
Memorial Hermann released the following statement over the weekend:
"Memorial Hermann is unable to comment on pending litigation or specific cases due to patient privacy laws. It is important to note that physicians diagnose and treat patients consistent with best medical practices. It is the role of medical providers to determine safe and effective courses of treatment for patients, and then assist patients and their loved ones, if applicable, to make informed decisions about treatment options available to them. The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19. Data currently available does not demonstrate that ivermectin is safe or effective against COVID-19 infection. Outside of ongoing clinical trials, the FDA, CDC and WHO discourage the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.
Local Houston source ABC-13