Anti-vaccination sentiment has led some to begin taking ivermectin, a drug commonly used to deworm animals that has not been approved for use as a COVID-19 remedy. Yet, it has become a popular subject of conversation on social media, where some claim it is a cure for the virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 88,000 prescriptions for the drug were reported in the week ending Aug. 13, a 24-fold increase compared to the pre-pandemic baseline.
NBC News reported Thursday that the website SpeakWithAnMD.com has experienced increased traffic due to demand for the drug. This site is associated with America’s Frontline Doctors, a group that previously went viral for falsely claiming the drug hydroxychloroquine was a cure for COVID-19 in a “makeshift” news conference. President Donald Trump tweeted a video of the conference.
America’s Frontline Doctors founder Simone Gold has been charged with violent entry for her actions during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and is currently awaiting trial. She recently attended a COVID-19 vaccine protest in Santa Monica.
According to NBC News, visitors to SpeakWithAnMD.com can get consultations for $90 and ivermectin prescriptions through the online Ravkoo Pharmacy. An intake form viewed by NBC News asked users if they preferred ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine.
Ravkoo Pharmacy, America’s Frontline Doctors and Gold all declined NBC’s requests for comment.
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Ivermectin is manufactured as pills and pastes, with some versions meant for humans and others for animals. Due to the wait times to get a prescription for the human version of the drug, some have taken the paste meant to treat horses, according to social media posts found by NBC.
The outlet some have put the paste on sandwiches or banana bread to get it down and that online communities sometime refer to it as “ivm” or “moo juice”.
Typically, ivermectin is used as a veterinary drug for livestock animals such as horses. Since it was developed in the late 1970s, ivermectin also proved to be a successful treatment for some human diseases caused by parasites. This discovery won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2015.
Researchers have looked into ivermectin as a possible COVID-19 remedy. However, studies have not shown that is effective against viruses. Even so, some prominent figures, including conservative talk show host Phil Valentine, have encouraged people to use ivermectin.
Valentine died from COVID-19 around a month after posting about ivermectin on Facebook.
In addition to Facebook posts supporting the use of ivermectin, other promotions of the drug can be found on Reddit and TikTok.
Public health officials, however, say not to use drug as a COVID-19 remedy. The CDC, Food and Drug Administration, and the Mississippi State Dept. of Health have all issued warnings about ivermectin.
In Mississippi, two people were hospitalized for taking the drug, said WREG Memphis.
According to the FDA, some of the side-effects that may be associated with ivermectin include: skin rash, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, facial or limb swelling, neurologic adverse events (dizziness, seizures, confusion), sudden drop in blood pressure, severe skin rash potentially requiring hospitalization and liver injury (hepatitis).
This week, the FDA approved the two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older.
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