Ohio Judge Forces Cincinnati Hospital to Administer Ivermectin to COVID-19 Patient

A county judge in Ohio has issued a court order forcing a Cincinnati hospital to give the anti-parasitic ivermectin for three weeks to a man suffering with COVID-19.

The FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued warnings earlier this month that ivermectin is not recommended for the treatment of COVID-19, and that it can be dangerous. Nevertheless, the man’s wife had filed an emergency order for the use of ivermectin when the hospital refused to administer the drug.

In animals, ivermectin is used as a dewormer. In humans, it’s approved only for treating intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis (river blindness), two conditions caused by parasitic worms. A topical form of the drug is approved for treating lice and rosacea.

Though ivermectin — made by Merck for humans — is not an anti-viral, the Ohio case is one of a growing number of cases across the nation where courts have ruled in favor of family members who insist on ivermectin for their loved ones, making doctors and hospitals administer the anti-parasitic.

Ivermectin became embraced by many conservatives following endorsements from supporters of former President Donald Trump, such as Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.).

Some people are even taking the version of the drug designed for animals, which is much stronger and potentially toxic to humans. The FDA issued its warning following multiple reports of people being hospitalized for toxicity after taking ivermectin intended for horses. The CDC said reports of poisoning via Ivermectin have increased threefold this year.

“There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. That is wrong,” the FDA said in its warning to the public about the drug. “Using any treatment for COVID-19 that’s not approved or authorized by the FDA, unless part of a clinical trial, can cause serious harm.”

In April, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert panel reviewed pooled data from 16 trials on Merck’s ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 that enrolled a total of 2,407 patients and found that the evidence of the drug reducing rates of death, the need for mechanical ventilation, hospitalization and time to COVID-19-related clinical improvement was of “very low certainty” (DID, April 1).

Retailers are getting in on the trend. On July 20, the FDA sent a warning letter to the website rxmedkart.com for offering zinc acetate, doxycycline and ivermectin marketed as a “Ziverdo Kit” to treat COVID-19 (DID, Aug. 11).

The CDC warning about the drug noted that clinical effects of ivermectin overdose include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Overdoses can cause hypotension and neurologic effects such as decreased consciousness, confusion, hallucinations, seizures, coma, and death. Ivermectin may exacerbate the effects of other drugs that cause central nervous system depression such as benzodiazepines and barbiturates.

“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it,” the FDA tweeted. — Suz Redfearn