Ivermectin ineffective at preventing COVID-19 in new, large study

A study published on Wednesday found the use of ivermectin to combat COVID-19 did not lead to reduced hospitalization. 

In Brazil, 3,515 people participated in a study where a group received ivermectin, a group received a placebo and another group received a different form of treatment for COVID-19.

The study, posted in The New England Journal of Medicine, says the results concluded ivermectin does not lower the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization.

“Treatment with ivermectin did not result in a lower incidence of medical admission to a hospital due to progression of Covid-19 or of prolonged emergency department observation among outpatients with an early diagnosis of Covid-19,” the study states. 

The study found in the intention-to-treatment population, 14.7 percent in the ivermectin group had to go to the hospital compared to 16.3 percent in the placebo group.

“The probability that the percentage of patients with a primary-outcome event was lower in the ivermectin group than in the placebo group did not meet the prespecified threshold for superiority in any of these three trial populations,” according to the study.

Ivermectin gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic despite warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the medicine was not approved as a treatment for the virus. 

Former President Trump at times talked up the use of ivermectin, and it was also highlighted by various celebrities.

The use of ivermectin in a recent study showed it was more popular in counties that were dominated by Republicans as it was peddled by some right-wing politicians and groups that were against the COVID-19 vaccine. 

Ivermectin is typically used in humans to treat head lice, roundworm infections and other parasitic conditions.