WHO says “no” to drug touted on social media

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Wednesday “not to use ivermectin” for Covid-19 patients, except in clinical trials, according to a statement from the organization.

Ivermectin is a commonly used antiparasitic drug that is heavily promoted on social media but according to the WHO expert group, data from clinical studies to measure its efficacy against Covid-19 have not yielded conclusive results.

“Our recommendation is not to use ivermectin for patients with Covid-19, regardless of the level of severity or duration of the symptoms,” said Janet Díaz, head of the agency’s Covid-19 clinical response team. UN, at a press conference.

He stressed that the only exception to this recommendation, based on the current state of research, is for clinical trials.

WHO experts drew their conclusions from a total of 16 randomized clinical trials with 2,400 participants, but some of these trials compared ivermectin with other drugs.

The number of studies comparing ivermectin to placebo “is much smaller,” said Dr. Bram Rochwerg, a researcher at McMaster University in Canada and a member of the WHO panel that conducted the evaluation.

Both Díaz and Rochwerg said the recommendations are “live” and will be updated as new research confirms or expands the current state of knowledge.

The WHO recommendation, the first on ivermectin, joins that of the European Medicines Agency, which, like the WHO, does not recommend its use except in clinical trials.

Its American counterpart, the FDA, explains on its website why ivermectin should not be used.