Ivermectin is proven to lower deaths from COVID-19 and is available now

Summary:

Ivermectin has been given to over 3 billion people to treat parasites.  It has proven to be effective in the treatment of COVID-19 patients in reducing mortality and has been applied to populations in Peru and Brazil without major side effects.  It is inexpensive, globally available, and is currently being used by a group of ICU doctors in the US. It should be accessed by the FDA and CDC and immediately approved for Emergency Status for prevention of COVID-19 and treatment of COVID-19 patients.  

Why vaccines are not the complete solution to the COVID pandemic.

The focus on COVID-19 has been to prevent the spread of the virus using vaccines.  Many hundreds of billions have been spent using private money and US taxpayer dollars.  Vaccines have been proven to work if enough people take them.  Vaccines will prevent most people from being infected by COVID-19.  Vaccines do not treat the infections from COVID-19 or the aftermath of those suffering from the damage done by the virus and the treatments used to keep patients alive.

Ivermectin has been proven safe and effective in preventing and treating COVID-19

Ivermectin is a drug that was first used as an anti-parasitic drug for animals.  Since most drug and vaccine trials have used animal studies, the original purpose of Ivermectin treating animals does not disqualify Ivermectin’s use to treat humans.  Over three billion people have been treated using Ivermectin to prevent blindness and disfiguration of equatorial populations from powerful parasites.  The following information is part of a comprehensive evaluation of Ivermectin by Carlos Chaccour, Chief Scientific Officer of the BOHEMIA Research Group, in the treatment of parasites, a number of viruses that includes COVID-19, and studies of side effects of Ivermectin treatment. 

“When used for the current indications, at the currently approved doses, Ivermectin is a very safe drug. To date, more than three billion treatments have been distributed in the context of the Mectizan Donation Program alone with an excellent safety profile. Most adverse reactions are mild, transitory and associated with parasite death rather than with the drug itself.

Guzzo et al. conducted a study with escalating doses of Ivermectin in some volunteers safely received doses of up to 2,000 mcg/kg, i.e. ten times the approved dose for onchocerciasis (river blindness).

There is also data to support the use of Ivermectin’s use for two issues that cause higher mortality of COVID-19 patients, i.e. compromised immune responses and compromised lung functions.

• Immunomodulatory effect. Ivermectin has the capacity to modulate the immune response. An exacerbated immune response is partly responsible for the pathophysiology of COVID-19.
• Higher penetration into the lungs. Although there are conflicting opinions about this, Ivermectin, given its lipophilicity accumulates in deep compartments, including the lungs.”

Ivermectin is being used now to treat COVID-19 patients

A group of ICU doctors in the US have proven that Ivermectin should be used as a prevention and treatment while vaccinations become available for long-term prevention of infection by SARS-CoV-2.

There has been a large number of research studies done on the specific application of Ivermectin to prevent and treat COVID-19.  A significant effort has been initiated by a group of Front-Line Critical Care COVID-19 medical professionals.  This effort has been led by Professor Paul Marik, MD and the website https://covid19criticalcare.com covers the research and protocols for applying Ivermectin as a prophylaxis (prevention) and treatment for COVID-19.  A summary of the research results is listed below.  The specific references for each result quoted are listed by accessing the website above and accessing the one-page summary of results.

Summary of results from using Ivermectin in clinical applications in the US

“Based on these data, we have devised a new prophylaxis and early treatment protocol against COVID-19 which we have named the “I-MASK+ protocol which we believe may serve as a global solution to the pandemic. The evidence base in support of this conclusion shows that Ivermectin:

1. Inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication, leading to absence of nearly all viral material by 48h in infected cell cultures

2. Prevents transmission and development of COVID-19 disease in household members of infected patients

3. Hastens recovery and prevents deterioration in patients with mild to moderate disease treated early after symptoms

4. Hastens recovery and avoidance of ICU admission and death in hospitalized patients

5. Leads to striking reductions in case-fatality rates in regions with population-wide distribution and use”

Conclusion

The focus on developing vaccines for COVID-19 to prevent long-term infections is underway.  These vaccines have been shown to be highly effective for prevention, but offer no treatment for COVID-19 infections.  Ivermectin has been conclusively shown to prevent and treat COVID-19.  With the overwhelming number of patients in ICUs due to COVID-19, and the huge number of post-treatment COVID-19 patients suffering long-term health conditions, Ivermectin should be approved and made available immediately for treating COVID-19 infections.  Ivermectin also offers the global solution that poor nations can implement immediately to help solve the global pandemic quicker and less expensively than the vaccines that have been allocated to wealthier nations.