A new peer-reviewed study suggests that global medical use of the drug ivermectin can end the COVID-19 pandemic with regular use.
The suggestion comes after reviewing literature that shows the medicine - originally used as an antiparasitic agent - also significantly reduces the risk of contracting the dangerous and highly contagious disease. Over the past few months, Ivermectin has found widespread attention as medical professionals campaigned for wider use of the drugs - and others disagree, calling for a more careful approach on the matter.
A research team composed of US-based medical professionals presented their findings in the article "Review of the Emerging Evidence Demonstrating the Efficacy of Ivermectin in the Prophylaxis and Treatment of COVID-19," appearing in the latest American Journal of Therapeutics.
A Comprehensive Review of Documented Ivermectin Use
In their paper, researchers explain that after COVID-19 appeared in the US, there have been studies that reviewed the "basic science, translational, and clinical data to identify potentially effective treatment options."
The new study was led by the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care (FLCCC), a group of scientists and medical experts "initially formed as a working group under 'emergency' conditions of the early COVID-19 pandemic." FLCCC members reviewed other peer-reviewed studies, meta-analyses from experts in the field, and published epidemiological data on regions that experienced ivermectin distribution. They report that ivermectin is indeed effective prophylaxis and treatment for cases of COVID-19.
"We did the work that the medical authorities failed to do, we conducted the most comprehensive review of the available data on ivermectin," said Dr. Pierre Kory, president, and chief medical officer of FLCCC, in a statement first reported by EIN Presswire. He adds that they used the "gold standard" in qualifying the data they reviewed before coming to a conclusion.
Among the main points of the evaluation included 27 controlled trials first made available last January 21, fifteen of which were randomized controlled trials (RCT). They found a notable, statistically significant reduction in recovery time, viral clearance, and even mortality rates in cases that used ivermectin. These findings were also consistent with different expert meta-analyses from Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Spain.
"Our latest research shows, once again, that when the totality of the evidence is examined, there is no doubt that ivermectin is highly effective as a safe prophylaxis and treatment for COVID-19," explains Paul E. Marik, FLCCC founding member and the chief of the pulmonary and critical care medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School.
Growing Ivermectin Use Around the World
Even before the release of the latest peer-reviewed study, the antiparasitic drug has already found growing use in various regions around the world. South Africa, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Zimbabwe, Mexico, and India have granted approval for the use of ivermectin by medical professionals in recognition of its supposed efficacy against COVID-19.
"We are calling on regional public health authorities and medical professionals around the world to demand that ivermectin be included in their standard of care right away so we can end this pandemic once and for all," Marik additionally noted.
In the middle of this conflict regarding the use of the antiparasitic drug, the World Health Organization advises that the "drug only be used within clinical trials" in a statement released by last March 31. The global health group explains that the currently available evidence on ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure remains inconclusive.
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