The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted full approval to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. But even though the FDA explicitly warns against it, some people believe they’ve found a better solution in ivermectin, an antiparasitic medication used to deworm cows and horses.
It may sound off-the-wall, but ivermectin ingestion is becoming a bit of a problem. Texas has seen a 552% increase in poison calls about the drug, according to WFAA, and The Dallas Morning News reports it's flying off feed-store shelves.You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it. https://t.co/TWb75xYEY4
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) August 21, 2021
When in doubt, Texans should look to science for COVID-19 answers, said Dr. Erin Carlson, an associate clinical professor in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at the University of Texas at Arlington.
“I don’t understand how many people have to be poisoned before people just decide the best thing to do is to act like a normal human being and take human medicine, like FDA-approved human medicine for a human virus,” she said. “I’m just at a loss. I don’t even have words.”
Carlson said she was shocked by the news that ivermectin sales have skyrocketed. She attributes the phenomenon to a vast amount of misinformation circulating on social media.
Typically, when bunk information spreads online, the effects are not as immediate, she said. For instance, when anti-vaccine rumors began cropping up, it took a while for it to be reflected in America’s low inoculation rate. However, this is a case where there's a direct connection between bad data and poison-related illness.
The issue isn’t even so much that people are taking horse medicine, Carlson added. Rather, it’s that antiparasitics are used to treat parasites, the same way that antiviral medication is meant for viruses.
“Why would you take an antiparasitic for a virus?” she said. “That’s just incomprehensible.”
Instead of taking ivermectin, it’s better for humans to receive a coronavirus vaccine, said Dr. Philip Huang, director of the county’s health department. Many unvaccinated people hospitalized for the disease regret not having gotten the jab after it’s already too late.
“I don’t know where the crazy stops.” – Dr. Erin Carlson
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In addition, folks should wear masks, wash their hands, avoid large crowds and maintain a safe distance from one another, he said. There’s a physician-administered treatment called monoclonal antibodies, too, which studies have shown to be effective.
“Those are the things that we know work,” Huang said. “Something like ivermectin is not studied. It’s not approved. It doesn’t work.”
Similar trends have come and gone before. Last year, accidental poisonings from disinfectants increased after then-President Donald Trump suggested injecting bleach could fight the coronavirus, according to Time.
Carlson said the uptick in poison calls frightens her. When it comes to COVID-19, it seems fairly obvious that it’s better to listen to health experts over non-expert social media friends.
Plus, if people continue buying livestock dewormers, there won’t be any left for the sick animals that actually need it, Carlson said. Between anti-vaxxers and bleach-drinkers, she doesn’t know “how many times we have to go down this road.”
“You just keep thinking we’ve seen it all … every kind of crazy you could have possibly seen, and now this,” she said. “I don’t know where the crazy stops.”
