Horse paste has struck out again: even at high doses, ivermectin is "futile" as a treatment for Covid 19, according to a large double-blind trial published in JAMA.
The median time to sustained recovery was 11 days in both the ivermectin and placebo groups (hazard ratio [HR], 1.02). Of the ivermectin recipients, 5.7% were hospitalized, died, or visited an urgent care center or emergency department, compared with 6.0% of placebo recipients (HR, 1.0).
One ivermectin recipient died, and 4 (0.8%) were hospitalized. Among placebo recipients, 2 (0.3%) were hospitalized, and none died. Adverse events were rare in both groups.
Despite the lack of efficacy in randomized, controlled trials, media reports and clinical experience suggests that some healthcare providers in the United States and abroad still prescribe ivermectin for their COVID-19 patients, according to an editor's note by Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, PhD, MD, and Preeti Malani, MD, JAMA editor-in-chief and deputy editor, respectively.
Great for worms; not great for novel coronaviruses.
