Ivermectin Falsely Heralded as Cause of India’s Declining COVID-19 Numbers

A widely shared video features a nurse criticizing a major health care provider for refusing to prescribe ivermectin for her potentially positive COVID-19 diagnosis. This video adds to a growing list of claims that ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug usually used to treat tropical diseases, has been shown to effectively prevent and treat COVID-19. Some have even linked the recent decrease in COVID-19 cases in India to new health guidelines allowing the use of ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. Although ivermectin is approved for other purposes, it is not currently approved for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19. Research has yielded mixed results on the drug’s safety and effectiveness, and the FDA advises against its use for COVID-19. There is no evidence to suggest that increased ivermectin use reduced infection rates in India, and other countries with similar ivermectin use guidelines have seen no related reduction in cases.

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The Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC) was formed in 2020 to coordinate and amplify public health messaging on COVID-19 and increase Americans’ confidence in guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local public health officials.

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