Against WHO's advice, Goa's health minister recommends using the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin to reduce COVID-19 mortality rates.
On May 10, 2021, Vishwajit Rane, Goa's health minister, said that the people in Goa should start an Ivermectin course of 12mg for five days. This medical recommendation applied to anyone over 18, irrespective of their condition or prevailing COVID-19 symptoms. Rane said that to combat COVID-19, the state decided to start the "prophylaxis treatment." However, according to the official World Health Organization COVID-19 guidelines, the anti-parasitic drug is ineffective in treating the virus.
In a series of tweet, Rane stated that the government's decision was based on "expert panels from the U.K., Italy, Spain, and Japan." The panel allegedly found that Ivermectin reduced mortality from COVID-19 as well as the time to recovery in COVID-19 patients. Therefore, the treatment could help reduce the severity of the virus.
Soumya Swaminathan, the Chief Scientist at WHO, warned against using Ivermectin for COVID-19. Similarly, Merck, a German healthcare company and Ivermectin's manufacturer, stated that there was "no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19" from Ivermectin's clinical studies.
Other countries, including the U.S., do not approve of using the anti-parasitic drug for COVID-19 in patients.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.
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