An August 12 Facebook post (direct link, file link) claims there is news about ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug that experts have long said is useless as a remedy for COVID-19.
“Remember the FDA’s narrative about ‘deworming horses’ debunking a drug that has been shown to save lives to push a useless, unproven vaccine from Big Pharma?” the station says. “The FDA quietly approved it. “
It was shared more than 50 times in 4 days. Similar claims were made on Fox Business Network and in an Instagram post that racked up more than 2000 likes.
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The FDA has not approved ivermectin as a COVID-19 remedy in humans, a company spokesman said. The indictment misrepresents a Justice Department lawyer in court who says the FDA does not prevent doctors from prescribing the drug off-label.
The FDA has not replaced its position on ivermectin and experts say it is not an effective remedy for COVID-19.
The firm legalized or approved the drug for use in the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in people, FDA spokesperson Chanapa Tantibanchachai said in an email to USA TODAY.
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Dr. Adrian Hernandez, director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, conducted trials in 2022 to determine whether taking it provided benefits to someone with COVID-19.
“There is no effect in improving the symptoms of COVID patients or preventing them from being hospitalized,” Hernandez said.
The claim dates back to early August before the U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Justice Department attorney Ashley Honold told the judges that the FDA’s public warnings about self-medicating ivermectin do not prevent doctors from prescribing it in an unauthorized manner for COVID-19 or any other illness.
Social media users mistakenly believed this meant the company had approved the drug. That happened.
“Doctors have, not always, but have, the freedom to prescribe other medications to people,” Hernandez said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s an indication. “
In medical terms, an indication is a medical condition for which a drug is used.
For years, claims about ivermectin as a remedy for COVID-19 have circulated on social media, especially among the unvaccinated.
The courtroom is part of a request by three doctors who want the appeals court to reinstate their lawsuits against the FDA, the Department of Health and Human Services and the heads of those agencies. These doctors have prescribed the off-label drug to thousands of COVID-19 patients and argue that the FDA exceeded its authority by publishing its opinions.
This lawsuit filed in June 2022. A judgment issued in December rejected it.
The Facebook post includes a link to a blog post about the court hearing that does verify the claim. While the FDA is said to recognize the strength of doctors to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID-19, the article says something about the agency’s approval, quietly or Array
The social media user who posted the post declined to provide evidence of the claim in an email to USA TODAY.
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