TO USE OR NOT TO USE A number of physicians swear by the
effectiveness of ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug commercially
available only for veterinary use, as a treatment or preventive
medicine against COVID-19. But the Food and Drug Administration maintains
there are procedures to be followed, including clinical
trials, before the drug could be allowed for distribution. —AFP
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Nancy Binay on Friday joked about the use of anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin by humans as debates continue about whether the medicine currently allowed in the country for animal consumption should be used for COVID-19 treatment.
“Nakakatakot kasi ‘yung available lang dito sa Philippines ‘yung animal grade. Wala pang kumbaga approved ‘yung human-grade na ivermectin,” Binay said in an interview over ABS-CBN News Channel when asked if she was willing to take Ivermectin.
(It’s scary because the only thing available in the Philippines is the animal grade. No human-grade Ivermectin has been approved yet.)
“May biruan nga eh, ‘pag may nagtatanong sa akin kung magte-take, ‘I guess kung hayop ka, eh ‘di uminom ka’,” she quipped.
(There’s a joke going around, so when someone asks me if I will take it, ‘I guess if you’re an animal, then maybe you should take it’.)
In the Philippines, all current Ivermectin products registered are only for veterinary use, to treat external parasites and prevent heartworm diseases in animals.
Kidding aside, Binay said she would wait for scientific evidence given there’s already a lot of clinical trials being conducted worldwide on the use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19.
“Ako, number one (first of all), with this COVID problem, we should always follow the science. If the science say na (that) it does not work, why do we need to take it? ‘Pag sinabi naman (If it says), it can help, it can treat then let’s go ahead and use this product,” Binay said.
Even the World Health Organization said it is not advocating the use of Ivermectin in the absence of statistically relevant evidence of its effectiveness against COVID-19.
Meanwhile, the country’s own Department of Science and Technology said it will also conduct clinical trials to determine if Ivermectin is effective in treating COVID-19 patients.