I hope everyone weathered the recent storms well.
Many of you have probably heard about this drug, touted on the internet and by some healthcare providers as an effective treatment for Covid infections. Some physicians have prescribed this for patients and some overzealous people have purchased this drug on their own from veterinary sources. As a result, many are getting sick and some have died. Although there are many drugs both humans and animals take, and, for the most part, they are similar, they are not stored or prepared the same way and obviously doses are significantly different.
You are NOT a cow or a horse. You may be an ass if you take a drug from a veterinary source, but that is another thing!
Calls to poison control about ivermectin have tripled as have emergency room visits to treat side effects.
Ivermectin is a medication used in humans and animals to treat parasitic infections such as intestinal worms, lice and mites. Because of the horrible, overcrowded conditions we raise factory farmed animals in, these kinds of infections are very common in our animal agricultural industry. And, as an aside, if it is being given to the animals, if you eat those animals, you are also consuming ivermectin indirectly, just like the antibiotics we feed them.
How is ivermectin thought to work against SARS-Cov-2, a virus? When the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects your cells, the virus makes copies of itself so it can spread readily around your body. The virus also has ways of impairing how your body combats it. During the infection of the cell, some viral proteins get into the cell nucleus, the “brain” of the cell, where they can decrease the body’s ability to fight the virus. In doing so, it creates a sort of “immune cloak”. The Delta variant is particularly good at this which is one of the reasons why it is much more dangerous. To get into the nucleus, the viral proteins need to bind to a transporter protein which lets them in. Ivermectin can block this transporter, so the viral proteins can’t get into the nucleus. Theoretically, by taking ivermectin, the body can fight the infection normally because its antiviral response hasn’t been reduced by the viral proteins.
There actually are some limited studies showing that ivermectin may have some efficacy against the SARS-Cov-2 virus, not preventing infection, but limiting the degree of the disease. On the other hand, there are also many more studies showing that it is not effective at all.
There is also some evidence that Zithromax, an antibiotic which kills bacteria, and hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial which also kills parasites, more commonly used today to treat rheumatoid arthritis, MAY help with Covid infections. Both probably have some benefit because of their anti-inflammatory properties. Zithromax does have some weak antiviral effects as well. On the other hand, there are many more studies showing lack of efficacy and even worsening clinical conditions in Covid patients taking these drugs.
But, unlike the Pfizer vaccine, none of these three are FDA approved for use to treat Covid-19 infections and neither are a substitute for vaccination and doing all those other things which we KNOW are protective.
With all three, there are also many side effects, some of which are lethal. The complications and risks of all three far outweigh any benefit when it comes to Covid management. As mentioned above, they do NOT replace the use of well established, efficacious, well researched, and FDA APPROVED treatments and behaviors. Sure, as an individual, you may get better while taking them, but you can also get better while doing nothing else, or eating paint chips and rubbing your body with coconut oil. That doesn’t mean those practices are good to promote for the masses.
In addition, there are now shortages of all three of these drugs which is unfortunate for those who are in legitimate need of these treatments for established indications, like Malaria, Rheumatoid Arthritis, bacterial infections and parasitic infestations, BUT NOT COVID!
Speaking of shortages, we were all horrified by scenes from India a few months ago when Delta was raging and millions were getting sick and tens, if not hundreds of thousands were dying, some in the streets outside of hospitals because of a lack of beds and supplies. Severe oxygen shortages were partly to blame for deaths and guess what? It’s now happening here in the US. Some areas are experiencing oxygen shortages. This is not only impacting on Covid patients but anyone else with a lung or heart problem in the hospital. Our medical systems are once again being strained by the numbers of Covid infections and the vast majority of those are not vaccinated. Sure some vaccinated people are getting sick but the majority of those are significantly less intense and symptoms clear much more quickly. And deaths from covid in vaccinated people are exceptionally rare.
The bottom line is that we know what treatments are effective in treating Covid-19 and the lay and social media is not a good resource for this information.
VACCINES are safe and they work. They are the only way through this mess.
MASKS can make a huge difference, and not only because they act as filters. They are also reminders that we continue to be in the midst of a pandemic.
DISTANCE and VENTILATION disperse the virus.
WASHING your hands and NOT TOUCHING your face minimizes direct spread.
GETTING HEALTHY makes you more resilient for when, not if, you get sick.
Have a great Labor Day weekend. Enjoy your families and friends safely.
Stay safe and be well.
AC