Ivermectin

Last week I hosted a poll on my LinkedIn asking my network whether they would take Ivermectin. The results are in…

Ivermectin: a recap

Here’s a recap of Ivermectin, the so-called COVID-19 ‘wonder drug’. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug that has traditionally been used on livestock and to treat people with skin infections. Ivermectin has shown promising results at trial, with evidence that the drug can decrease mortality rates in cases of moderate to severe COVID-19. The University of Liverpool’s study found that Ivermectin reduces inflammation and encourages faster elimination of COVID-19 from patients’ systems; in six of the trials they conducted, there was a 75% decrease in mortality in the subset of patients who had moderate to severe COVID-19.

The University of Liverpool’s study found that Ivermectin reduces inflammation and encourages faster elimination of COVID-19 from patients’ systems.

Potential benefits

Put simply, the potential benefits of Ivermectin are as follows [source]:

• Faster time to viral clearance (the time it takes for the virus to be detected in blood cells)
• Shorter duration of hospitalisation
• 43% higher rates of clinical recovery 
• 83% improvement in survival rates

Ivermectin could be a game-changing treatment that would complement the current vaccine rollout in the UK. An added bonus is that Ivermectin is cheap, costing only 12 cents to make. The evidence to date suggests that it is a drug that could aid people who are on the cusp of developing severe disease, and also could work as treatment for patients suffering from the early stages of COVID-19. The drug could be ingested at home; think about how this would help the NHS, who are currently struggling with hospital bed capacity. There is also early evidence that administering Ivermectin to a patient in the early stages of illness could expedite the process of COVID-19 leaving their system, therefore making someone less contagious. 

Poll results

Now to the results… when asked the question, “Would you take Ivermectin?”:

• Yes: 52%
• No: 13%
• It depends: 35%

My LinkedIn network consists of a wide range of people and demographics, from business leaders to health workers, and from geographies across the globe. 52% of the poll participants said they would take Ivermectin. 35% said it depends and of those, the majority said it would depend if it got medical approval. That means a combined 87% said yes assuming it gets medical approval; why didn’t the government jump on this sooner?

Painting the picture

In late January, Ivermectin was approved for use in South Africa on a case-by-case basis on compassionate grounds. Similarly, the US National Institute of Health recently lifted its objections to use of Ivermectin as treatment for COVID-19. There are multiple analysis online dating back as far as April 2020, and another example here in October 2020, indicating the potential efficacy of Ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment. This does beg the question as to why we are only launching trails in the UK now, and instead didn’t investigate Ivermectin earlier in conjunction with vaccine research.

The evidence is admittedly at an early stage and much needs to be peer reviewed to ensure that the drug is safe, as Ivermectin is currently only legal in the UK as treatment for skin infections. There are also logistical barriers to distribution in the event of the drug being approved, as Ivermectin is not manufactured in the UK and is typically imported from France. Further, a rigorous trial into Ivermectin has not been completed, which is causing concerns about potential side-effects. One individual commented on my post directing me towards a statement issued by drug manufacturer Merck & Co on 4^th February , stating that there is “no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect against COVID-19 from pre-clinical studies” regarding Ivermectin. This FT article and this Times article shows the other side of the story; the picture on Ivermectin certainly isn’t clear yet.

An opportunity?

Much emphasis has been placed on the vaccine and how it will bring an end to the excess deaths, interventionist policies, and large fiscal expenditures – which may take decades for the country to recover from. With Ivermectin (and other promising drugs), the UK has the opportunity to save the lives of people who have contracted the virus, reduce hospital admissions, and alleviate the reliance being placed on the vaccine. There have already been rumblings around the vaccine roll out in certain parts of the world and possible supply chain issues – examples can be seen with the EU demanding for more AstraZeneca doses.

Ivermectin could alleviate the reliance on the vaccine and, as my poll suggests, society is showing an open-mindedness towards the drug. If verified as an effective treatment and approved for use in the UK, this will be a valuable step towards tackling this virus and opening up the economy!