Florida woman dies after unsuccessful suit to get ivermectin

A teacher in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., who was hospitalized with COVID-19 died following her husband’s unsuccessful attempts to force doctors to treat her with the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, according to reports from ABC News. 

Tamara Drock, 47, spent 12 weeks at the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, as explained by her husband, Ryan Drock, per ABC News.

According to The Palm Beach Post, she was not vaccinated against COVID-19. 

Ryan Drock sued the hospital in October over its refusal to administer ivermectin to his wife, ABC News reported.

Misinformation about ivermectin’s ability to treat coronavirus infections has circulated widely online in recent months. However, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that “ivermectin has not been authorized or approved for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals.”

The agency also noted that “ivermectin is approved for human use to treat infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice and skin conditions like rosacea.” 

Ryan Drock’s lawsuit was rejected by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge James Nutt in October, according to ABC News’s reports, as Nutt said that permitting a judge’s rule to override a doctor’s recommendation could set a dangerous precedent.

Nutt encouraged the Drock family to try to negotiate a deal on their own with the doctors at the hospital. A doctor at the hospital did eventually agree to administer ivermectin, though the family attorney said it was too low of a dose, per ABC.

“I’m hoping they name a law after her so no one has to go through this. If she had walked out of the hospital she could have had the medication,” Drock said. He was also infected with COVID-19 but recovered, according to ABC.

The Hill reached out to Tenet Healthcare, which owns and manages Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, for comment but has not immediately heard back.