To those that follow the science behind COVID-19 already knew that Ivermectin doesn’t prevent severe disease from Covid-19 but a new study published Friday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine confirms it.
Key Points
Question Does adding ivermectin, an inexpensive and widely available antiparasitic drug, to the standard of care reduce the risk of severe disease in patients with COVID-19 and comorbidities?
Findings In this open-label randomized clinical trial of high-risk patients with COVID-19 in Malaysia, a 5-day course of oral ivermectin administered during the first week of illness did not reduce the risk of developing severe disease compared with standard of care alone.
Meaning The study findings do not support the use of ivermectin for patients with COVID-19.
The study enrolled nearly 500 people 50 and older who were at risk of severe Covid-19 because of their age and underlying health. These patients were treated at 20 public hospitals and a quarantine center in Malaysia in 2021.
Half of the patients took a relatively high dose of oral ivermectin for five days, and the other half — the comparison group — received treatment for their symptoms, such as fever-reducing medications. All were monitored for progression of disease.
In addition to the fact that ivermectin didn’t work, people who took it had more side effects than those who didn’t, and sometimes those side effects were severe, including heart attacks, anemia and diarrhea that led to shock.
“The higher incidence of side effects with ivermectin in our study raises concerns about the widespread use of this drug outside clinical trial setting,” lead researcher Dr. Steven Lim told CNN in an email.
