States Are Making It Easier to Get Ivermectin

With Robert F. Kennedy at the helm of the nation's health agencies, alternative therapies are finding their way more often into the spotlight, including one familiar from the pandemic: ivermectin. Republican lawmakers in multiple states are now pushing bills that would allow for the antiparasitic to be sold over the counter, and four states already boast such a law: Arkansas, Tennessee, Idaho, and Louisiana, report NBC News and NOLA. The move to make ivermectin OTC doesn't come without controversy:

• What it is: The drug began as a veterinary med in the '70s, before being approved by the FDA to use for serious tropical diseases like river blindness, as well as scabies, tapeworms, and other worm-linked illnesses.
• FDA: The agency hasn't given the green light for ivermectin to be used as a COVID preventive measure or treatment, and clinical trials haven't offered evidence that ivermectin does the trick on either of those fronts. The FDA has warned that ivermectin could interact with other meds, and that ODs can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, seizures, and even death.

• Mel Gibson connection: The actor prompted a new wave of ivermectin enthusiasts after his appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast in January, where he insisted the drug, in combination with other drugs, had cured multiple friends of Stage 4 cancer. "This stuff works, man," Gibson said, per the Times of London.
• More bills: GOP lawmakers in at least a dozen other states are trying to jump-start their own related legislation, including in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
• Access: The ivermectin would likely remain behind the pharmacist's counter, even if one doesn't need an Rx to buy it. Some pharmacists are also wary at using the drug off-label for illnesses and conditions it hasn't been approved for. One Idaho pharmacist tells NBC that he won't sell it to just anyone until the FDA weighs in with more guidance, despite his state recently approving ivermectin for OTC status.
• Merck: The company that manufactures ivermectin in the US says in a statement that the medication should only be used as the FDA directs it to be used, noting, "The use of ivermectin is not supported beyond the doses and populations indicated in the regulatory agency-approved prescribing information."

Much more here on the controversy.