Ivermectin is HORSE dewormer...... It is not and has never been approved for human use....ever
Sigh. Ivermectin has been used in humans for 30 years to combat a variety of parasitic infections. It's especially well known for saving millions in Africa from river blindness. And it's considered an essential medication by the WHO.
Now, it has not been approved for use in covid but all the evidence I've seen is pretty compelling. True, there is no multi-center 10,000 person randomized control trial. But, there are dozens of smaller studies (some RCTs) from around the world and the vast majority show it to be extremely effective against covid. Someone posted one of the meta-analysis studies a few posts back. Take a look.
Also, the doctors who are at the forefront of promoting the use of ivermectin are not a bunch of backwater hicks looking to make a name for themselves. Look up Dr Pierre Kory and Dr Paul Marik. They've been treating patients for decades, are widely respected and have published countless peer reviewed articles on various aspects of critical care medicine. One of them (Marik I think) authored a widely used critical care textbook. Both were among the first to recognize the importance of using high dose steroids for patients who progress to the pulmonary phase of covid (low oxygen, breathing difficulties). This was later proven to be the correct treatment by the British Recovery trial.
As a scientist I have to say I'm quite appalled by what I'm seeing these days. From fraudulent papers being published, to poorly designed studies (such as the HCQ study where patients were not only treated too late, but with doses that were way above recommended/safe levels) to editors pulling articles from publication even after they've passed peer review, to the overbearing censorship of medical professionals on all social media platforms. Medical professionals cannot even mention ivermectin without risk of being deplatformed or demonetized or having their accounts locked.
Personally, I've got a couple of tubes of "horse paste" and will not hesitate to use it if I get covid, unless I can find a doctor to prescribe ivermectin. I'm not going to be one of the "go home and come back when you turn blue" crowd if I can avoid it.
As for vaccines, that's a whole other topic but I cannot fault anyone for being hesitant to get one of the mRNA shots. I'm in that camp...still waiting and watching. This technology has never been used in humans before and while the shots appear to be pretty safe in the short term (maybe, though there are a LOT of severe adverse reactions reported on the VAERS system), no one knows if there will be unexpected side effects down the road. Medical history is full of drugs that appeared to be safe but turned out not to be (vioxx, thalidomide come to mind). If I were young (under 30) or had covid already I would not even be considering getting a vaccine right now. If I was older/sicker I'd get a shot. At my age (59) and with no comorbidities...it's not such a simple decision. I have to say, though, that I'm leaning toward getting the first pfizer shot in the next week or two.
Anyway...nice to see you all again.
