Ivermectin Reduces SARS-CoV-2 Replication In Laboratory Studies - University of Oxford
Discovered in the late-1970s, the pioneering drug ivermectin, a dihydro derivative of avermectin—originating solely from a single microorganism isolated at the Kitasato Institute, Tokyo, Japan from Japanese soil—has had an immeasurably beneficial impact in improving the lives and welfare of billions of people throughout the world.
The quote above comes from a 2011 paper published in Proceedings of the Japan Academy, Series B Physical and Biological Sciences. It's accessible through the National Library of Medicine and explains how, for many years, ivermectin has been used to overcome several human diseases in billions of people. We are talking ivermectin quality and dosage appropriate for human use, not the veterinary version.
It's long been used as an anti-parasite medicine whose discovery won the Nobel Prize in 2015 for its impacts in ridding large parts of the globe of parasitic diseases via the distribution of over 3.7 billion doses within public health campaigns since 1987. Since 2012, numerous in-vitro and in-vivo studies began to report highly potent antiviral effects of ivermectin against a diverse array of viruses including SARS-CoV-2.
According to the University of Oxford, who is currently investigating treatments like ivermectin and its ability to reduce serious illness and the severity of symptoms from COVID-19, "Ivermectin is safe, broad spectrum antiparasitic drug which is in wide use globally to treat parasitic infections."
With known antiviral properties, ivermectin has been shown to reduce SARS-CoV-2 replication in laboratory studies. Small pilot studies show that early administration with ivermectin can reduce viral load and the duration of symptoms in some patients with mild COVID-19. Even though ivermectin is used routinely in some countries to treat COVID-19, there is little evidence from large-scale randomised controlled trials to demonstrate that it can speed up recovery from the illness or reduce hospital admission.
Reducing viral replication essentially means that infection will not last as long as the virus cannot spread throughout the body as easily, allowing the immune system to more effectively rid the virus. This potential is what interested people in using ivermectin to begin with.
The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 in people or animals. Ivermectin has not been shown to be safe or effective for COVID according to the FDA.
As many already know, ivermectin has been quite a controversial topic lately. Many doctors and scientists have supported it' use, and it's approved for use to treat COVID in multiple countries. That being said, federal health regulatory agencies in the U.S. continue to maintain that it can be dangerous, and that there is no evidence whatsoever that it can be helpful to treat COVID. This claim has been heavily argued against, however.
For example, according to a paper published in the American Journal of Therapeutics,
Meta-analyses based on 18 randomized controlled treatment trials of ivermectin in COVID-19 have found large, statistically significant reductions in mortality, time to clinical recovery, and time to viral clearance. Furthermore, results from numerous controlled prophylaxis trials report significantly reduced risks of contracting COVID-19 with the regular use of ivermectin. Finally, the many examples of ivermectin distribution campaigns leading to rapid population-wide decreases in morbidity and mortality indicate that an oral agent effective in all phases of COVID-19 has been identified.
Here is a good summary of the science that's emerged regarding ivermectin and COVID. It was put together by the Canadian COVID Care Alliance, a group of more than one hundred Canadian doctors, scientists and other academics.
In contrast, here is an information page as to why you should not use ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID.
Scientists, organizations and doctors who support ivermectin have been labelled as conspiracy theorists who are spreading false information. It's unfortunate that very little meaningful dialogue around ivermectin has been allowed to take place. Instead, we've seen ridicule and false information spread to muddy public perception.
This is exactly why we see so many people polarized in their beliefs that are unable to have civil conversations with those who disagree with them. We fail to seek out and understand why someone who shares a different belief than us has come to the conclusion they have.
It also goes without saying that it doesn't help that Facebook fact-checkers and other social media outlets have removed and put warning labels on more than 100 million pieces of content throughout this pandemic. A lot of science has unfortunately been caught in this censorship dragnet.