Experts weigh in on use of Ivermectin in treatment of Covid-19
By Se-Anne Rall
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DURBAN - South African epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist Professor Salim Abdool Karim has warned against the administering of Ivermectin in the treatment of Covid patients.
In an interview with IOL on Tuesday, Karim said current evidence with Ivermectin is seriously inadequate for Ivermectin to be prescribed for Covid-19. The Ivermectin available in South Africa is for animal use only. It would be professional misconduct for any doctor to prescribe it and any pharmacist to dispense it, he said.
Karim, who heads up the Ministerial Health Advisory Committee (MAC) on Covid-19, said until more robust evidence was made available, the routine use of Ivermectin either for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19 was not justified.
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has confirmed it will be opening a criminal case after it allegedly found evidence that anti-parasite drug Ivermectin had been prescribed and dispensed at a private Durban hospital.
Civil society group AfriForum and trade union Solidarity have instructed their legal team to prepare a case challenging the government’s proposed monopoly on the buying and distribution of Covid-19 coronavirus vaccines.
The two organisations say they want to ensure that those who seek to get the vaccine are not obstructed from doing so by government mismanagement or corruption.
“Throughout the lockdown period the government has proven that when it has a monopoly on Covid-19 related policies and tasks, corruption and inefficiency tend to be rampant.
“AfriForum, therefore, seeks to prevent the potential abuse of government power as it relates to the buying and distribution of Covid-19 vaccines, by fighting to allow the private sector to assist in this endeavour,” said Ernst van Zyl, campaign officer for strategy and content at AfriForum.
SAHPRA officials raid Durban private hospital for anti-parasite drug, Ivermectin Updated
Nushera Soodyal
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The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority has confirmed it will be opening a criminal case, after it allegedly found evidence that anti-parasite drug Ivermectin had been prescribed and dispensed at a private Durban hospital.
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Police and SAHPRA officials raided Ahmed Al-Kadi yesterday after the authority received a tip-off. Ivermectin, which is given to animals for parasites, isn t approved by the regulatory body for treatment in humans, here.
The medication grabbed headlines recently as a so-called miracle cure for COVID-19. SAHPRA s Yugen Gounden says they didn t find any Ivermectin at the hospital but proof that it was there.
Bail bid for man arrested at Durban airport for trying to smuggle Ivermectin tablets 07 January 2021 - 10:53 Police seized a consignment of Ivermectin from a man at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban on Wednesday Image: Supplied
A 43-year-old man will make a bid for bail on Friday after he was arrested at Durban s King Shaka International Airport on Wednesday allegedly with more than 2,400 Ivermectin tablets in his possession.
The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) prohibited the drug for human consumption on December 22 after it emerged on several social media platforms that the drug was being promoted on local groups as having “cured” people of Covid-19.