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For an industry that is supposed to tackle disinformation, our national media certainly seem happy to indulge their own narratives. People have offered anecdotal testimony in recent months about the drug ivermectin and its purported effectiveness in treating acute COVID-19 infections. Ivermectin has not been tested for this purpose, nor is it known to be an antiviral, making it much more experimental than vaccines.
However, it also does not make ivermectin a drug which “is generally used to treat or prevent parasites in animals such as horses”. And yet, outlets like NBC News feel the need to twist the long history of human ivermectin nominations, just to score points on… Joe Rogan?
Rogan, host of the hugely popular Spotify podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” posted a video on Instagram explaining that he tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from a live broadcast on Saturday. He said he had “a fever and sweats” and had “thrown out the kitchen sink” because of the illness.
His treatments included monoclonal antibodies and ivermectin, Rogan said. Ivermectin, which is not an antiviral drug, is generally used to treat or prevent parasites in animals such as horses.
To be fair, the FDA first pushed this narrative:
The United States Food and Drug Administration last month urged people to stop believing that misinformation claiming that treating cattle would help cure Covid, saying it has seen several reports of patients who were hospitalized after “self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses”.
Finally, after the jump, NBC admits that ivermectin is not simply a “cattle treatment” after the FDA backtracked:
The agency clarified that the FDA-approved ivermectin tablets for treating people with certain conditions caused by parasitic worms as well as topical formulations used for head lice and skin conditions like rosacea are different from medicine used on animals. Ivermectin tablets and topical formulations for humans have “very specific doses” which are significantly lower than doses intended for animals.
So why keep the reference to “animals such as horses” in the second paragraph?
Let’s leave the specific application aside in this case and focus on the drug itself. The Nobel Committee awarded its inventors (William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura) its Science Prize in 2015 for discovering ivermectin and its range of applications for humans, making it a modern wonder drug (via Katie Pavlich):
William C. Campbell, an expert in parasitic biology working in the United States, acquired the cultures of Streptomyces from Ōmura and explored their effectiveness. Campbell showed that a component of one of the crops was remarkably effective against parasites in domestic and farm animals. The bioactive agent was purified and named Avermectin, which was then chemically modified into a more effective compound called Ivermectin. Ivermectin was then tested on humans with parasitic infections and effectively killed parasite larvae (microfilariae) (Figure 3). Collectively, Ōmura and Campbell’s contributions led to the discovery of a new class of drugs with extraordinary efficacy against parasitic diseases. …
The discoveries of avermectin and artemisinin fundamentally changed the treatment of parasitic diseases. Today, ivermectin derived from avermectin is used in all parts of the world plagued by parasitic diseases. Ivermectin is very effective against a range of parasites, has limited side effects, and is freely available worldwide. The importance of ivermectin in improving the health and well-being of millions of people with river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, mainly in the poorest parts of the world, is immeasurable. The treatment is so effective that these diseases are on the verge of being eradicated, which would be a major achievement in the medical history of mankind. Malaria infects nearly 200 million people each year. Artemisinin is used in all parts of the world affected by malaria. When used in combination therapy, it is estimated to reduce malaria mortality by over 20% overall and over 30% in children. For Africa alone, this means more than 100,000 lives are saved each year.
The discoveries of avermectin and artemisinin revolutionized the treatment of patients with devastating parasitic diseases. Campbell, Ōmura and Tu have transformed the treatment of parasitic diseases. The global impact of their discoveries and the resulting benefits for humanity are immeasurable.
It is clear that ivermectin is not only a “cattle medicine”, despite the characterizations we now see in the media. It is a crucial and important drug for hundreds of millions of humans around the world, especially those who live in parasitized environments. The media’s capture of this initial characterization of the FDA is irresponsible, and even a little research would have shown this account to be ridiculously false. Even if we quibble about the dosage, anyone who has had to take medication knows that the dosage is scalable depending on the circumstances, acuity, etc.
Now, does that make it an effective treatment for COVID-19? No, and since its classification is pest control, it doesn’t even necessarily suggest a connection. While the few anecdotal reports of success have merit, it would take a larger scientific study to determine whether the improvements were causal or simply correlative. Not only do we not have this data, based on current indications, no one is even suggesting that we should do such a study, not even the manufacturer of ivermectin.
In addition, we to do have tested and established ways to deal with COVID-19. We have three approved vaccines in use in the United States, as well as monoclonal antibody treatments available – which Rogan is also using to treat his acute infection. You could understand individuals and a few doctors experimenting with treatments when we had no tested and effective treatment available to deal with an explosive pandemic. This is no longer the case, and we should focus on using what we know works rather than taking leaflets on drugs that have not been shown to work against viruses, let alone COVID. -19 in particular.
In other words – to get vaccinated. If you still get an active infection, get treatment with monoclonal antibodies as soon as possible. Stick to what we already know to be effective. This is the responsible approach to personal health in this pandemic.
In the meantime, however, perhaps the media should take a responsible approach in reporting the facts rather than stoking hysteria. And maybe we need adults at the FDA too.
Update: Many people have pointed out to me on Twitter that people buy the animal version of Ivermectin, at a dosage significantly higher than that generally considered therapeutic in humans. I would say that doesn’t necessarily mean people are consuming that dose; they could split the pills, an approach also used in regular human medicines. I don’t know how Rogan uses the drug or what dose he ingests, and I dare say that NBC didn’t bother to ask before announcing that he was taking a “medicine for cattle.” Did they even confirm that Rogan was sourcing ivermectin from veterinary sources?
Either way, it is generally a bad idea to take prescription drugs without the supervision of a doctor, especially drugs that are not tested for the condition you are trying to treat, no matter what. dosage or condition. That said, dismissing ivermectin as mere veterinary medicine for ‘pwn Rogan’ is simply inaccurate, inflammatory and irresponsible.
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