In a few states, consumers can now buy ivermectin over the counter; the junk science drug that has ‘miraculous’ abilities to cure everything from cancer, rashes, the flu, and most notably, COVID-19. But pharmacists have concerns about the lack of guidance on this ‘miracle drug.’
Since Idaho’s MAGAt governor, Gov. Brad Little, signed a bill into law mandating that ivermectin be available to anyone who wants it over the counter, the director of operations for the independent Customedica Pharmacy, Matt Murray, fields calls from customers on a daily basis asking if the independently owned pharmacy sells this ‘miracle drug.’
While the law technically says that pharmacists like Murray can sell the drug over the counter, the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved it to be used this way.
“I don’t feel that we could just sell prescription ivermectin,” Murray said. “It’s not designed or packaged for retail sale.”
Social media has contributed greatly to people’s desire to seek out this drug for whatever ails them because we all know that if we see something on the internet, it must be true. 🙄
Ivermectin has never been formulated or labeled specifically for over-the-counter use, like aspirin or an antacid. Without proper guidance, there is concern that people could overdose on the medication.
Interest in using drugs or experimental treatments in unapproved ways has gained steam with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s appointment as head of the Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy recently said on a podcast that people should have access to controversial alternative therapies like stem cells and chelation therapy to remove heavy metals from the body. The FDA has warned that neither should be used without oversight from a doctor.
This year, two other GOP-led states — Arkansas and Tennessee — passed over-the-counter ivermectin laws.
NBC News called 15 independent pharmacies in those states, plus Idaho, to ask whether pharmacists could provide ivermectin without a prescription.
Not a single one said they’d sell the drug over the counter, despite the new laws.
“Most over-the-counter drugs, especially ones that were prescriptions at one point, go through some FDA approval process,” Murray said. “In that process, it gets decided what the labeling is going to say,” including warnings and directions.
Scott Adams, the creator of the “Dilbert” and avid MAGA,t who was recently diagnosed with the same kind of aggressive prostate cancer as President Biden, has asked his social media followers to quit recommending Ivermectin or Fenben.
Sure, Sean:
“There are exactly zero published clinical trials in a human being on whether ivermectin does or doesn’t treat cancer,” Burstein said. “I can assure you that if any oncologist in America had seen” a benefit to ivermectin, he said, “they would have been eager to write it up.”
-Harold Burstein, a breast oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston
