Ivermectin toxicity – Go Retire Psychiatrist

Pursuant to my previous post about the debate in the Iowa Legislature over a proposed bill to make Ivermectin available over-the-counter (OTC) in Iowa, it looks as though hydroxychloroquine was recently dropped from the bill. Although few people say it out loud, in my opinion, it’s no secret that the main reason for the bill is to make ivermectin available to those who want to use it to treat Covid-19, despite there being no convincing evidence that it’s effective for that.

However, yet another bill was introduced by the governor which has its own ivermectin promotion section; so, there are now two ivermectin bills. They look the same.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy is opposed to them because the language obliges them to comply with dispensing ivermectin to patients even if it might potentially harm them.

Although the bill removes penalties for dispensing ivermectin, there seem to be no specific penalties to pharmacists for refusing to do so. About 3 years ago, a pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for ivermectin that was intended for treatment of Covid-19.

A similar bill in Utah was not passed about 4 days ago. Supporters of the bill appeared to be engaging in passing misinformation about ivermectin for Covid-19, claiming there was “plenty of data” supporting its effectiveness for it. In fact, the FDA has not approved its use for treatment of Covid-19.

I wonder if there might be a justification for a kind of civil disobedience by pharmacists by refusing to give OTC ivermectin to patients. The other question is what does the Iowa Board of Medicine think about this? Is it right to leave physicians out of the loop in this situation?

It seems ironic that a legislator who is an internist, Dr. Austin Baeth, is on the right side of this debate by opposing the bills, yet the state medical board seems to be silent. Would it be appropriate for the state medical board to take a public position about this issue as the pharmacy board has?

I’ve seen a few warnings including the CDC Health Advisory issued August 26, 2021, against using Ivermectin in COVID-19. Ivermectin is a prescription drug used to treat parasitic infections in farm animals and humans. There’s no credible evidence supporting the use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 in humans and its use is currently restricted to research trials.

There have been calls to poison control centers across the country from people who suffer side effects, which can include nausea and vomiting, seizures, confusion, hallucinations and more from ingesting animal grade Ivermectin. It can cause death. Certain politicians and doctors are recommending and prescribing it for humans. At least one person has been hospitalized for treatment of side effects.

I saw the FDA warning tweet quote: “You are not a horse; you are not a cow; Seriously y’all. Stop it.” I’m not sure if that was from an FDA official, mostly because I doubt that the word “y’all” would be standard usage for FDA announcements. In any case, the FDA strongly advises against using Ivermectin to either prevent or treat COVID-19.

Merck, the manufacturer of the agent, warns against it as well.

Most of the headlines I’d seen until today were connected to Mississippi and Texas. This morning, I saw a story revealing that Iowans are also buying Ivermectin in animal supply stores, probably to self-treat or prevent COVID-19. One customer claimed it was safe for humans, purchased the product and left the store.

Nobody’s going to tackle a customer who insists on using Ivermectin in a misguided effort to treat COVID-19. There’s no law against it, so nobody’s going to call the police to intervene.

There’s a song titled “Iowa Stubborn” from the Music Man, a show starring Meredith Willson, who was from Iowa. I’m hoping the “chip-on-the-shoulder attitude” will eventually lead Iowans toward making the common-sense, community minded decisions (for which we are also known) that will eventually free us from the grip of the pandemic.

In times like these, I wonder—what would Chet Randolph think?