As TN and Goa Push Ivermectin for COVID, WHO Scientist Reiterates Opposition
Doctors have said that they are pressured to prescribe the drug to COVID-19 patients even though they are aware that it has no beneficial effect.
A pharmacist holds the anti-parasite drug ivermectin in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, May 19, 2020. Photo: Reuters/Rodrigo Urzagasti
New Delhi: As several Indian states continue to prescribe ivermectin, the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan on Tuesday tweeted that the UN agency recommends against the use of the drug to treat COVID-19 patients except within clinical trials.
Included in the tweet was a press release issued by the company that manufactures the drug, Merck, saying it has not found any evidence to support ivermectin’s use in treating COVID-19.