- The popularity of the unproven antiparasitic drug ivermectin as a treatment for Covid-19 is soaring.
- Its use originated in South America, where it was cited by populist leaders in debunked studies.
- A Peruvian official told Insider, “No one is paying attention…now we are seeing the same situation in the United States.”
- For more stories, please visit Business Insider.
In May 2020, when the coronavirus swept the South American country of Peru, Dr. Patricia Garcia of the Ministry of Health of the country began to receive disturbing reports from the country’s hospitals.
They specified that it was not the harm caused by Covid-19, but a drug that people thought would help them: the antiparasitic substance ivermectin.
“They are talking about people with severe gastritis [stomach inflammation], And pancreatitis because they desperately took ivermectin,” Garcia told Insider.
Garcia said that as the coronavirus continues to spread, people’s confidence in ivermectin as a way to escape the crisis has become stronger.
It will take nearly a year for Ivermectin to be widely discussed in the United States, because some Americans are beginning to insist on accepting it.
As vaccination-the most effective Covid countermeasure-has become more and more politicized, the demand for ivermectin in the United States has skyrocketed. The doctor strongly recommends not to take it, but as of October 16, More than two dozen lawsuits filed across the U.S. From the people who asked to access it.
“History is repeating itself,” Garcia said. “No one pays attention to what happened in Latin America, and now we see the same situation.”
Fake treatment with real support
In Peru in May 2020, there is no vaccine, and the rise of ivermectin is driven by hope and despair.
As local media reported at the time, as thousands of people tried to get pills, pharmacies quickly sold out and a lucrative black market for ivermectin emerged.
Adherents recommend that healthy people take ivermectin as a preventive agent and use it to treat Covid-19 after infection.
Many people turn to a stronger medicine, usually used to deworm horses. Garcia said that this form is taken by injection, and people who take it will leave serious skin damage.
As the enthusiasm spread, the evangelical community in southern Peru The drug was injected into 5,000 people in the indigenous community.
In some cities, including the capital Lima, public health officials Stronger and more dangerous drugs were distributed to the entire community.
Withdrawn research fueled the craze
The belief that Ivermectin can fight Covid-19 is almost as old as the pandemic, predating the vaccine or even proper testing.
Nearly two years have passed, there is still no conclusive evidence that ivermectin is effective against Covid-19, and it has been repeatedly debunked, including U.S. Food and Drug Administration September.
It convinced that any ivermectin in large doses is dangerous and that humans should never take drugs used to treat animals.
Carlos Chaccour, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute of Global Health, points out that a humble research paper in early 2020 seems to respond to people’s eager desire for viable treatments.
The birth of a lie
The paper draws on data from Surgisphere Corporation, a small research group in Chicago, which published the report in April 2020 to establish a link between taking ivermectin and surviving Covid-19.
Researchers who also tout hydroxychloroquine said the paper is based on data from thousands of hospitals around the world. Their research has been published in top medical journals, including The Lancet and New England Journal of Medicine.
But soon, people became suspicious of the authenticity of Surgisphere’s data, the qualifications of the team, and the methods they used.
After being strongly opposed by the scientific community, the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine withdrew the study. An investigation by the British Guardian. But by then, Chakur said, the damage had been done.
In the summer of 2020, government officials in Peru, Bolivia, and Guatemala used ivermectin as part of their Covid-19 strategy and often cited withdrawn studies as evidence.
Chaccour told Insider that the drug is easily accepted because it seems to provide a simple solution, is relatively cheap, and is already widely used in the region.
He pointed out that one danger of this drug—perhaps more serious than its side effects—is that people who think it is effective against Covid-19 are more likely to ignore actual effective actions.
He said: “One of the risks of ivermectin is not only in safety, but also in people not wearing masks, vaccinations, or social distancing because they think they are protected.”
Second wave
As the second wave of coronavirus hits South America in the second half of 2020, ivermectin has become more prevalent.city People in Cali, Colombia distributed it Sent to all Covid patients in late July. A few weeks later, the Mexican state of Chiapas followed suit.
In Brazil, the most populous country in South America, the drug was endorsed by the national populist president. Jar Bolsonaro And his allies at the regional and national levels.
But it’s not just politicians. They are riding a wave of social media misinformation that is still circulating. Experts told Insider that millions of people in groups on Facebook and WhatsApp are sharing misinformation about ivermectin.
One of its influential promoters is COMUSAV, a group of rebellious doctors based in Bolivia whose core product is An industrial bleach advertised as a miracle cure Various diseases including Covid-19.
They push ivermectin to fans across the African continent on a Facebook page with tens of thousands of fans.
(many After an investigation by Insider in March 2021, the group’s page was deleted.)
From South America to North
Experts told Insider that Juan Chamie, a data analyst, was one of the people who helped bring South American populists’ enthusiasm for ivermectin to their peers in the United States.
Chamie claims that there are data showing that in parts of South America where public health authorities have approved ivermectin, Covid-19 mortality is low.
But Chaccour and data scientist Joe Brew Talked about His analysis is misleading and ignores other factors that can explain the difference.
“Just because things are related doesn’t necessarily mean that one thing causes another,” they said.
This did not prevent Chamie’s analysis from being widely shared until his account was suspended by Twitter.
It is worth noting that Laura Ingraham, she is the primetime host of the Fox News show “Ingraham Cape”.
In December 2020, Ingraham released a chart belonging to Charmi to her 3.8 million fans.
It claims to show a decrease in Covid-19 cases and compares the areas where officials in the Mexican state of Chiapas have distributed and not distributed ivermectin.
Chakur said that, like Chami’s other claims, the decline may be a coincidence or it may be caused by other factors.
Ingraham has a history of promoting ivermectin. As early as March 2020, Ingraham posted a tweet about Surgisphere research on Twitter, but it was later debunked.
Chaccour believes that Ingraham’s advocacy is a turning point for ivermectin in the United States.
Progressive Movement Organization Media Affairs pointed out Ingraham’s enthusiasm extended to her acclaimed Fox News show.
In two episodes in December 2020, Ingraham claimed that the medical authorities had conspired to suppress the substance and ignored evidence of its effectiveness. Media affairs staff Andrew Lawrence told Insider that Ingraham was “definitely the leader of the web host promoting the substance.”
A Fox News spokesperson said in defense of Ingraham that she never explicitly told the audience to take the drug.
In comments to the Washington Post, Ingraham criticized the attempt to “suppress” scientists with unorthodox information. “Just like the scientific consensus, the medical consensus is constantly evolving. It will change,” she said sadly.
Chamie has also established ties with the Frontline Critical Care Alliance (FLCCA), a group of American doctors who are influential in promoting ivermectin in the United States. As Insider’s Hilary Brueck detailed in the September survey.
Chamie describes herself as FLCCA’s senior data analyst LinkedIn page, The team cited his research on its website.
The organization played an important role in facilitating the relationship between Republican lawmakers who supported the ivermectin movement and promoted the drug.
In December last year, Dr. Pierre Kory, a member of the organization, testified on the issue of ivermectin in the US Senate, which was described by Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of Brown University. In the New York Times As a “misinformation super-spreader incident”.
In a statement to Insider, FLCCC defended its position on ivermectin and forwarded to Insider a list of studies based on anecdotal evidence that indicated that ivermectin may be effective in reducing Covid-19 deaths . These studies are not considered conclusive by experts.
The team did not respond to questions about Chamie’s research, and Chamie himself did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.
When U.S. supporters call for wider use of ivermectin, disappointed officials in South America are changing their positions.
In February, Peru completely removed ivermectin from its Covid treatment regimen because there was no evidence that it was effective.
Peruvian official Garcia told Insider: “For me, our entire region has experienced the terrible situation of many deaths, which is really incredible to me.”
“They take ivermectin because we know it, so it’s easy for us. But it doesn’t work.”
