A large new trial has reportedly found no indication ivermectin is useful in treating COVID-19 patients.
The trial of almost 1,400 COVID-19 patients at risk of severe disease found the drug failed to reduce hospital admissions, according to The Wall Street Journal. In the trial, half the patients were prescribed ivermectin pills for three days, while the others received a placebo. The report noted this was the largest trial testing the effectiveness of ivermectin in treating COVID-19 so far.
"There was no indication that ivermectin is clinically useful," Edward Mills, a lead researcher on the study, told the Journal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter Hotez of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine also reviewed the findings and told the Journal they should "really help put to rest ivermectin and not give any credibility to the use of it for COVID-19."
The FDA hasn't approved ivermectin to treat COVID-19, and the agency has said that "currently available data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19."
Still, ivermectin has been promoted as a potential treatment for COVID-19 by podcaster Joe Rogan, among others. Last year, Rogan said he took ivermectin when he contracted the coronavirus.
-
How will the new Repayment Assistance Plan for student loans work?the explainer The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will replace existing income-driven repayment plans
-
In the Spotlight Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been at odds with US forces
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black KeysFeature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kidsSpeed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sickspeed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
