Lake Ozark, MO – In a now-deleted Facebook post, the mayor of a central Missouri town asked for prayers and support as he planned to give his friend, hospitalized with COVID-19, a treatment that experts have warned people against using.
The Food and Drug Administration urged Americans to stop using a cow and horse dewormer called Ivermectin in misguided attempts to treat COVID-19. Lake Ozark Mayor Dennis Newberry stated on Facebook Monday that he had acquired the drug and was hoping doctors would allow his friend to take it.
Top conservative media entertainers — including Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham — have mentioned ivermectin as a drug that could possibly be used to treat Covid-19, according to CNN.
The FDA posted a warning over the weekend about the drug not being approved as a treatment for COVID-19, "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."
Newberry's post has since been deleted, but not before many grabbed screenshots and shared it. Newberry wrote in part: “As a hail merry (sic) pass I have procured some 'ivermectin' for him and will be driving it to him today".
If humans overdose on Ivermectin they can suffer from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension, allergic reactions, dizziness, ataxia, seizures, coma and even death, according to the FDA.
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The mayor's post was flagged with a warning by Facebook for possibly spreading misinformation about COVID-19 and unapproved treatments.
Newberry has not made a public comment since the post.