Mississippi residents use ivermectin to treat COVID-19

Mississippi and federal level health experts urge state residents not to ingest ivermectin to treat COVID-19. In case you want to know what Ivermectin is, it is a medicine designed to treat diseases in livestock, not humans.

According to At NPR, the Mississippi Department of Health receives numerous calls, at least 70% to its poison control center, about people becoming ill after ingesting the drug to treat the coronavirus. It is actually designed to rid cows and other animals of parasites and horses.

Mississippi has the second lowest vaccination rate in the country; only Alabama has a lower rate. People don’t take the vaccine, but take this?

Dr Paul Byers, the state’s top epidemiologist, wrote in a statement that ingesting the drug can lead to a rash, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, neurological disturbances and potentially serious hepatitis requiring treatment. hospitalization. Eighty-five percent of people calling after using ivermectin had mild symptoms, but at least one resident had to be hospitalized, according to the Mississippi Free Press.

The Federal Drug Administration literally had to tweet that people are not animals.

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“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, all of you. Stop it. ”The tweet read.

Meanwhile, the FDA is trying to increase confidence in vaccines. Here’s more on that story, from NPR:

The FDA has not approved ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19, but vaccines have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of serious illness or death. Monday, Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine became the first to receive full approval of the FDA.

“Although this vaccine and others have met the FDA’s rigorous scientific standards for emergency use clearance, as the first FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine, the public can be very confident that this vaccine vaccine meets high standards of safety, efficacy and manufacture. the quality that the FDA demands of an approved product ”, Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said in a statement.

Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines remain available under emergency use authorization. The FDA is also reviewing Moderna’s request for full approval, and a decision is expected soon.

Public health officials hope the full approval will boost the confidence of those who have so far been reluctant to be vaccinated, which Woodcock acknowledged on Monday.

Meanwhile, the death rate from the Delta variant is so incredibly high that the Mississippi has contracted 1,000 healthcare workers to relieve some 50 hospitals across the state. According tog at ​​WAPT 16 ABC, the state reported 111 deaths. According to the news station, 41 of those deaths occurred between August 19 and 23 and the remaining deaths occurred between June 25 and August 20 and were identified from death certificates.

Also keep in mind that Governor Tate Reeves has long out of his way to fight vaccination warrants and has only backed down since COVID-19 rates in his state have skyrocketed. He calls on people to get vaccinated, but refuse require mask warrants.

Yes, it’s silly (and downright crazy and dangerous!) That people take drugs designed for livestock to treat COVID-19. But if you have a governor like Reeves, you’re bound to have confused (and stupid) people willing to do more than take sound medical advice.