Amid a raging second wave of Covid-19, the Goa government has recommended all residents above the age of 18 years to take five tablets of Ivermectin. It basically helps in preventing steep or fatal symptoms of coronavirus.
Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said that all adults in the state will be given the drug as a “prophylaxis treatment” to prevent the viral infection from taking a severe turn.
If you are wondering what is Ivermectin and if it can really help in treating Covid, we have the answers for you.
What is Ivermectin?
Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug and it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is used as a prescription medication to treat certain parasitic roundworm infections and is often used for patients with intestinal strongyloidiasis and onchocerciasis.
How can Ivermectin treat Covid-19 patients?
According to a study, regular use of the oral antiparasitic drug Ivermectin can help in reducing the risk of contracting coronavirus. The research, published in the May-June issue of the American Journal of Therapeutics, is the most comprehensive review of the available data on ivermectin taken from clinical, in vitro, animal, and real-world studies, its authors said.
To evaluate the efficacy of Ivermectin in preventing Covid, three RCTs and five observational controlled trials including almost 2,500 patients were analysed. All studies reported that ivermectin significantly reduces the risk of contracting Covid-19 when used regularly, the authors said.
Expert panels from the UK, Italy, Spain, and Japan have recognised Ivermectin as powerful prophylaxis to have a statistically significant reduction in mortality, time to recovery, and viral clearance in Covid patients treated with this medicine.
Is it safe?
The approval of the drug as a preventive measure for coronavirus is still at the research level as the FDA has not approved or reviewed data to support the use of Ivermectin drug in Covid patients. However, many parts of the world have found the drug to have significant results.
“There’s a lot of misinformation around, and you may have heard that it’s okay to take large doses of ivermectin. That is wrong,” the FDA said in a report dated March 5.
Goa recommends Ivermectin for all adults
Health Minister Rane said, “The Ivermectin 12 mg tablet will be made available in all the district, sub-district, PHCs, CHCs, sub-health centres, rural dispensaries for people to collect and start treatment immediately, irrespective of any symptoms or anything.”
The decision has been taken to bring down the mortality rate in the state. “At the same time one should not have a false sense of security and complacency but strictly take all the precautionary measures and follow laid SOPs,” the minister asserted.
