A drug that got a lot of undue attention during the COVID-19 pandemic is back on the radar in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has added an item to the special session agenda for Texas lawmakers to allow the sale of ivermectin at pharmacies. “Texas should have increased access to the benefits of ivermectin,” said Abbott in a statement, adding, “it will benefit Texans for generations to come.”
Abbott’s move has already tweaked some legacy media outlets like the San Antonio Express-News, which claims “widespread misinformation” about ivermectin “led to an increase in poisonings in Texas,” adding that the governor “did not specify why Texans needed increased access to the anti-parasitic drug.”
Ivermectin is a decades-old FDA-approved drug used mostly to treat and prevent parasitic infections in humans and animals. Recently, the animal version has been used in cattle feed to prevent the spread of the new world screwworm fly. During the COVID pandemic, some doctors cited success in using ivermectin to treat COVID patients in certain circumstances. That led to a full freak-out from the legacy media and medical establishment, which moved to censor any talk about ivermectin and to silence and punish doctors who prescribe it for “off label” uses like treating COVID.
Dr. Brian Joondeph, a writer and medical physician who was an outspoken critic of the censorship during the pandemic, says the meltdown over ivermectin was never warranted. “Unlike what the FDA said about it being ‘horse paste,’ ivermectin is an approved drug for humans,” he tells KTRH. “In most countries in Africa, ivermectin is readily available over the counter as an anti-parasitic agent.”
“Given its track record of safety, I think it’s reasonable that it should be available here over the counter.”
Just like with all medications and drugs, how and when it is used should be left between the doctor and the patient. “If somebody wants to take (ivermectin) for something else, that’s their business,” says Joondeph. “That’s freedom of choice.”
“It’s not a dangerous or harmful drug, and I’m not aware of reports of people overdosing on it or suffering harm because of it,” he continues. “So I think this is a smart move in keeping with other states and other countries.”