What do a federal agency and a Redwood City animal feed store have in common?
They've both felt the need to remind people they’re people, not horses or cows.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration tweeted as much on Aug. 21, linking to its own article about why humans shouldn't use ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug often used to deworm horses, cows and other animals, as a treatment for COVID-19.
No form of ivermectin is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat or prevent COVID-19. Neither the tablets humans take to treat internal conditions caused by parasitic worms, the topical ointments used to treat head lice and rosacea nor are any of the injectable, oral and topical forms reserved for animals.
Despite inconclusive research into the drug's efficacy as a COVID-19 treatment and the absence of agency approval, ivermectin has nonetheless been cited by conservative politicians and media figures, multimillionaire podcasters and online anti-vaccination groups as a miracle coronavirus remedy.
Following inquiries from prospective customers seeking the drug, Peninsula Feed Store in Redwood City posted both the tweet and the article on its front door, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported on Thursday. A store employee told KCBS Radio in a brief interview on Thursday said they’ve received far more callers asking about the drug as a COVID-19 treatment than in-person shoppers.
Some callers have outright admitted they want it as a COVID-19 remedy, while others are more evasive – yet no less obvious, the employee said – in their intended purpose.
In every instance, the employee said the store has refused to sell ivermectin, reminding the caller of the Food and Drug Administration's guidance.
The Food and Drug Administration wrote that animal drugs often contain inactive ingredients that haven't been evaluated for use in people, and the drugs are highly concentrated since the animals taking doses are often much larger than humans. Yet misinformation surrounding the drug remains widespread.
NBC News last month reported on Facebook and Reddit groups in which users advise others’ dosages of the animal drug based on the weight they provide. Podcaster Joe Rogan, who has baselessly cast doubt on the coronavirus vaccines' efficacy since signing a $100 million licensing deal with Spotify last year, said this week after testing positive for COVID-19 that he used ivermectin as treatment.
An Arkansas doctor prescribed the drug to incarcerated people without their knowledge last month. An Ohio judge ordered a hospital to treat a man, who has been on a ventilator since Aug. 1, to be treated with ivermectin at the behest of his wife.
Community transmission in San Mateo County, where Peninsula Feed Store is located, is high, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s metrics, just like the vast majority of the country due to the delta variant. The positivity rate (2.46% over the last seven days), however, is far lower than the country as a whole (9.58%), and San Mateo County has fully vaccinated a far higher share of eligible residents (80.1% of those 12 and older) than the U.S. has (61.7%).
Yet Peninsula Feed Store still felt the need to inform prospective customers, posting the Food and Drug Administration article in its window for all to see.
The employee, who said they’re one of the store’s newer workers, said this was the first time they were aware of Peninsula Feed Store taking such a step to combat misinformation about one of its products.
They also hoped it was the last time the store would need to.
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