Latest news with #Ivermectin
Washington Post
21 hours ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Political idiocy is going to make us, well, idiots
In today's edition: You walk into the pharmacy in Idaho and pick up the pamphlet that says 'Ivermectin and You.' You open it. Instead of information, loose pills simply tumble out. You ask the pharmacist about vaccines, and she pretends she hasn't heard you. This, my friends, is medical freedom. Leana Wen's latest column is a case study of the right's antipathy toward the medical establishment, chronicling how ivermectin — long used for deworming livestock — gained conservative cachet during the covid-19 pandemic and is now being made available over the counter in a bunch of red states; meanwhile, vaccine access is being 'sacrificed on the altar of contrarianism.' Yes, Leana says, 'proponents hail these moves as a win for the 'medical freedom' movement,' but they are in fact the manifestation of a diseased relationship with public health and science writ large. To wit: Vice President JD Vance doesn't seem to have a very good grasp on how America's space program happened, Mark Lasswell writes: Vance claims 'American talent' powered the program, with a teeny bit of help from 'some German and Jewish scientists' who came to this country from Europe. 'Some'? Mark entreats us to remember rocketry mastermind Wernher von Braun. Oh, of the Philadelphia von Brauns? Not quite. True, a lot of those contributors became Americans in the 1950s — but Vance doesn't appear too keen on the whole naturalization thing, either. All of this pairs very poorly with, as Mark writes, the White House 'working energetically to dissolve arrangements between several research universities and the government.' Max Boot characterizes it even more starkly: 'the suicide of a superpower.' That's because a lot of progress really has been the result of American ingenuity, which happens to occur largely at universities funded by the government. Examples include: the internet, GPS, smartphones, artificial intelligence, MRIs, LASIK, Ozempic, and drugs that actually prevent and treat covid. But, years hence, as our adversaries explore the cosmos, the human genome and the limits of generative AI, at least we will be worm-free. Chaser: Professor Carole LaBonne writes that it's true that colleges have benefited plenty from federal funding, but if we're looking at which way the reliance relationship really goes, it's the government that depends on universities. From Perry Bacon's essay on the way 'flyover country' conquered this basketball season, with the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder heading to the NBA Finals. 'Is the NBA self-sabotaging? Does the league just have terrible luck?' Perry asks. 'No and no. Teams in fairly small markets will host the championships for a league that craves a massive and even international audience. And that's just fine.' The league, Perry writes, will have plenty of money no matter how many viewers tune in to this year's finals. What's more interesting is the way the NBA sorta kinda stands athwart the supercity-cization of the United States, by way of its strict rules for how much teams can spend and what Perry calls its 'socialist-y system' for paying players. It is not just not bad, Perry argues, but actively great that littler cities are able to compete. As coastal megalopolises hoover up whole industries and their workers, we all ought to have it in us to cheer on these finals. 'Courage I know we have in abundance … but [gun]powder — where shall we get a sufficient supply?' Abigail Adams, I was not familiar with your game! John Adams was, though. The future president once told his wife and pen pal: 'I really think that your Letters are much better worth preserving than mine.' The powder letter is pretty much exactly 250 years old, exchanged in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War, and the resolve it displays is remarkable, writes historian Joseph Ellis, considering the overwhelming uncertainty still swirling at that point. Britain was the world's hegemon, Ellis writes, yet the Adamses 'were like poker players who were all-in before knowing what cards they had been dealt.' Even more remarkable is the couple's prescience that their correspondence would be important some day, as John noted. Ellis writes: 'They were not just writing letters to each other; they were writing to posterity — which is to say, us.' So read up on what Ellis excerpts. Then, in our own era of uncertainty, maybe start writing, too. It's a goodbye. It's a haiku. It's … The Bye-Ku. NBA reckons With remotest finals sites This side of Oort cloud *** Have your own newsy haiku? Email it to me, along with any questions/comments/ambiguities. See you tomorrow!
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Pa. Rep. aims to make highly debated COVID-19 drug available over-the-counter
PENNSYLVANIA (WTAJ) — A Pennsylvania Representative is looking to make an anti-parasite medication into an over-the-counter drug. Ivermectin, also known by its brand names 'Soolanra,' 'Sklice' or 'Stromectol,' is sold as an anti-parasite drug that can treat infections caused by roundworms, threadworms and other parasites. Currently, a prescription is needed in order to obtain the drug, something that Rep. Jacob Banta (R-Erie) is looking to change. Banta argued in his new legislation that Ivermectin is a 'very safe drug that has been used by millions of people worldwide.' The drug won a Nobel Prize in 2015 for its role in treating parasitic diseases, however, Banta also noted that the drug has been explored to treat other illnesses such as COVID-19. According to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the use of Ivermectin has not been authorized or approved for the prevention of COVID-19 in humans or animals. The administration added that the currently available clinical trial data do not demonstrate that Ivermectin is effective against COVID-19 in humans. Banta's legislation noted that the National Institute of Health (NIH) reported Ivermectin is among several 'potential drugs explored for its therapeutic and preventative role' in COVID-19. However, in a study from 2024, the NIH noted that Ivermectin 'did not have an effect in reducing the risk of mortality in patients with COVID-19.' 'IVM (Ivermectin) did not increase the risk of PCR negative conversion, LOS, viral clearance, admission to ICU, symptoms resolved, discharge from hospital, hospitalization due to progression or SAEs,' The NIH study reads. 'Subgroup analysis based on different controls showed that IVM did not have an effect on reducing all-cause mortality rates in patients with COVID-19.' The bill argued that in India, Ivermectin prophylaxis was taken by 76 controls and 41 cases, with it being reported that the drug was associated with a 73% reduction of COVID-19 infection among healthcare workers for the following month, however, it is unclear in the legislation where the statistics were reported from. 'Personally, I'd like to report that my Eighty-five-year-old Mother was admitted to the hospital with Covid symptoms and made a complete recovery in just four days of administering Ivermectin in 2020,' Banta wrote. The Representative ended his legislation by noting that Arkansas and Idaho have already passed legislation for over-the-counter Ivermectin sales. The bill was introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and has now been referred to the Health Committee. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The week ahead: Senate budget writers sharpen pencils, members tackle social agenda
While Senate budget writers are busy every day as they begin to make final decisions about a two-year spending plan, the members of the House of Representatives and state Senate must tackle a variety of social issues — everything from parental rights, clearing a path to receive Ivermectin without a prescription and segregating locker rooms, sports teams and jails by biological sex. The actions could deliver one big victory for Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who has made it one of her top priorities to sign a bill that enshrines the right of parents to ask and get answers from educators and others about discussions their children might have had including on matters of sexuality and gender identity. To do so, she'll need to survive what is shaping up as a bitter battle with Planned Parenthood of Northern New England that claims that the House-Senate GOP rewrite of the bill would deny minors access to birth control without their parents' consent. Reps. Debra DeSimone and Jay Markell, both R-Atkinson, co-authored the rewrite (SB 72 amended) with the support and collaboration of Sen. Timothy Lang, R-Sanbornton, who authored the original bill. 'No children should ever be prescribed any medical procedures of medication without parental consent to protect all children from undue and unnecessary harm by parental knowledge and information provided concerning family history,' DeSimone said. Rep. Heather Raymond, D-Nashua, said the change would run counter to federal law and threaten the state's status of having one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the nation. 'The amended bill would strip the rights of teenagers to access birth control or receive pre- and postnatal care without written parental permission,' Raymond said. 'In states like Texas which now require parental permission for birth control, teen pregnancy rates have increased along with the rates of maternal and infant death.' Ivermectin started as a treatment for animal parasites, but in 2015 its creators won the Nobel Prize for the success in treating similar conditions in humans. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it became a viral sensation as many citizens went to feed stores to purchase the drug for them to deal with that virus. Rep. Linda McGrath, R-Hampton, who worked in the pharmacy field for decades, said it's time to lift pressures off doctors and pharmacists who want to dispense the drug by creating with the amendment a standing order that a patient can get it without a prescription. 'There have been tremendous efforts to block doctors from prescribing and pharmacists from filling this medication. Doctors have even lost their medical license for prescribing Ivermectin,' McGrath said. 'This will be totally voluntary for all health care providers who wish to participate.' Rep. Lucy Weber, D-Walpole, said giving Ivermectin such a lofty status is inappropriate given it's now done only in 'extremely limited' cases, such as smoking cessation, Narcan and EpiPens. She warned passing the bill could cause a stampede of other drug-makers seeking the same benefit. 'Consider the chaos when the manufacturers of the thousands of other medications on the market propose similar standing orders for their medications,' Weber warned. House Democrats objected to tacking the Ivermectin matter to the original bill (SB 119) the Department of Health and Human Services proposed to save $9 million a year by allowing it to dispense the cheaper drug to Medicaid patients even if that's the brand name once drug rebates have discounted that price. HHS officials also sought in its bill the same 'standing order' for 'over-the-counter medications and supplies' in the Medicaid program. The House GOP amendment took out the latter provision. Segregation on biological sex On Thursday, the Senate is expected to embrace the bill (HB 148) from House Speaker Pro Tem Jim Kofalt, R-Wilton, on segregating by biological sex. 'The passage of HB 148 is a critical step toward safeguarding privacy, fairness, safety, and respect for all Granite Staters. This legislation permits schools, businesses, prison officials and others to develop common-sense rules to govern the use of bathrooms, locker rooms, and correctional facilities,' Kofalt said. 'By upholding sex-based classifications in sports, HB 148 also preserves the safety and integrity of women's athletics by permitting schools to adopt policies that align with biological reality. The bill will also help safeguard federal funding for our public schools, colleges, and universities.' Senate Democrats will surely join their House colleagues to oppose this bill, claiming that it unfairly targets and stigmatizes transgender individuals, but they appear to be lacking the numbers to stop it. 'This bill would restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth by overriding decisions made by doctors and parents,' House Democrats said in a statement last month. Last year, former Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed an identical bill questioning if it could come in conflict with the anti-discrimination law on gender identity that he signed in 2018 and over concerns what segregating in prisons might do to the tension behind the walls. On a related matter, the House Education Policy and Administration Committee will vote on whether to support a Senate-passed plan that would restrict sports to members of the same biological sex (SB 211). The Senate is also expected to recommend killing two popular House-passed bills. Rep. Jonah Wheeler, D-Peterborough, has championed one to annul the convictions of all offenders for possession of cannabis offenses (HB 196). The other measure (HB 387) from Rep. Janet Wall, D-Madbury, would ban the release of 'lighter-than-air' balloons into the atmosphere carrying a fine of $250 for the first offense and $500 if there's a second. klandrigan@
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
False information on ivermectin continues to circulate worldwide
"The Media laughed and said Ivermectin was ONLY for horses and cows? THEY KNEW it was made for people since 1987," begins a May 7, 2025 Facebook post. It goes on to list 12 uses for ivermectin to treat everything from Covid-19 to cancer. The image shows an injectable version of ivermectin intended for cows and swine, implying that people should purchase the product in its formulation for animals -- a notion explicitly rejected by pharmacists (archived here). Canadians posted the same text in French, while AFP identified other posts spreading versions of the claim in Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch, Bosnian, Greek, Czech and German. Keyword searches revealed the identical text has been shared across social networks since at least January 2025, around the time that actor Mel Gibson made unproven claims about ivermectin curing cancer on Joe Rogan's popular podcast. This follows years of misinformation about the drug, particularly among those skeptical of the mRNA vaccines developed to protect against Covid-19 (archived here). The false belief in positive off-label uses for ivermectin triggered legislative moves in several US states to allow access to the drug without a prescription. In Canada, ivermectin is only approved for use by humans to treat "parasitic infections (oral) and rosacea (topical)" (archived here). Similarly, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration approved ivermectin tablets "to treat some parasitic worms," while topical formulations are available for head lice and rosacea (archived here). Ivermectin has been shown to be "clinically effective against certain worm infections and scabies," Akos Heinemann, research head in the department of pharmacology at the Medical University of Graz (archived here), told AFP on April 29, 2025. "Anything else is unsubstantiated speculation based on scientifically untenable data or is simply fabricated," he said. While the widely shared text focuses on the potential benefits of ivermectin use, the drug has possible serious side effects (archived here). In 2021, amid increasing calls to poison centers, Health Canada issued a warning against taking ivermectin off-label or in formulations for livestock (archived here). "Canadians should never consume health products intended for animals because of potential serious health risks, including seizures, coma and even death," it said. Heinemann said: "Prescribing or taking ivermectin outside of its approved indications is grossly negligent." Monika Redlberger-Fritz, researcher at the Center for Virology at the Medical University of Vienna (archived here), agreed. "Ivermectin should only be used as authorised; all other uses are not indicated," she said on April 29, 2025. The text shared across social media claims ivermectin "has been associated with a significant reduction in infection, hospitalization and mortality rates" due to Covid-19, but there is no data to back that claim. During the pandemic, researchers explored whether ivermectin could treat Covid-19, but studies failed to find a clinical benefit. Health Canada and provincial health authorities, including in Alberta, do not recommend the use of ivermection to prevent or treat Covid-19. The post also claims that ivermectin cures the "damage caused by mRNA vaccines through spike proteins." This repeats a recurring false claim that the spike proteins produced after vaccination against Covid-19 cause harm or can be shed to the detriment of others. Experts estimate the Covid-19 vaccines saved millions of lives (archived here). Health Canada says the approved vaccines "reduce the risk of severe illness, death and post Covid-19 condition (long Covid)" (archived here). The social media post further claims that ivermectin kills cancerous cells and prevents their spread, but provides no evidence. The effectiveness of ivermectin in treating cancer is currently an avenue of research for scientists, but it is far from being considered an alternative to existing treatments experts explained to AFP in French. Since the mid-1990s, in vitro and animal studies have shown that the ivermectin molecule could have anti-cancer properties. Jérôme Hinfray, head of scientific information for the French Anti-Cancer League, told AFP in March 2025: "Scientists have shown that the molecule could have antiproliferative properties, which therefore slow the development of cancer cells, and anti-metastatic properties, which would prevent the spread of cancer in the organisms of the animals that were the subjects of the experiment." However, such studies cannot be extrapolated to humans, and further research and clinical trials are needed, said Claude Linassier, oncologist and director of the prevention, organisation and care pathways unit at the National Cancer Institute of France in March (archived here). "We cannot in any case transpose data from an experimental model in mice to treatment in humans," he said. "To claim that ivermectin is effective in curing cancer is certainly false or fanciful and is not based on any scientific data," he warned. Research shows that cancer arises from mutations in cells, not from an external parasite (archived here), but the false belief that cancer is a parasite also fuels unproven faith in ivermectin and fenbendazole to cure it. Following Gibson's claim, which was viewed more than 10 million times on YouTube, the Canadian Cancer Society took to X to warn against the "false hope" provided by misinformation on cancer treatment (archived here). "Surgery, radiation and approved cancer drugs like chemotherapy are safe and proven to stop cancer cells from growing and spreading. Choosing to use an alternative therapy can have serious health effects, such as the cancer spreading or getting worse," the organization said. More of AFP's reporting health misinformation is available here.
AFP
14-05-2025
- Health
- AFP
False information on ivermectin continues to circulate worldwide
"The Media laughed and said Ivermectin was ONLY for horses and cows? THEY KNEW it was made for people since 1987," begins a May 7, 2025 Facebook post. It goes on to list 12 uses for ivermectin to treat everything from Covid-19 to cancer. The image shows an injectable version of ivermectin intended for cows and swine, implying that people should purchase the product in its formulation for animals -- a notion explicitly rejected by pharmacists (archived here). Image Screenshot of a Facebook post taken May 13, 2025 Canadians posted the same text in French, while AFP identified other posts spreading versions of the claim in Spanish, Hungarian, Dutch, Bosnian, Greek, Czech and German. Keyword searches revealed the identical text has been shared across social networks since at least January 2025, around the time that actor Mel Gibson made unproven claims about ivermectin curing cancer on Joe Rogan's popular podcast. This follows years of misinformation about the drug, particularly among those skeptical of the mRNA vaccines developed to protect against Covid-19 (archived here). The false belief in positive off-label uses for ivermectin triggered legislative moves in several US states to allow access to the drug without a prescription. In Canada, ivermectin is only approved for use by humans to treat "parasitic infections (oral) and rosacea (topical)" (archived here). Similarly, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration approved ivermectin tablets "to treat some parasitic worms," while topical formulations are available for head lice and rosacea (archived here). Ivermectin has been shown to be "clinically effective against certain worm infections and scabies," Akos Heinemann, research head in the department of pharmacology at the Medical University of Graz (archived here), told AFP on April 29, 2025. "Anything else is unsubstantiated speculation based on scientifically untenable data or is simply fabricated," he Potentially dangerous While the widely shared text focuses on the potential benefits of ivermectin use, the drug has possible serious side effects (archived here). In 2021, amid increasing calls to poison centers, Health Canada issued a warning against taking ivermectin off-label or in formulations for livestock (archived here). "Canadians should never consume health products intended for animals because of potential serious health risks, including seizures, coma and even death," it said. Heinemann said: "Prescribing or taking ivermectin outside of its approved indications is grossly negligent." Monika Redlberger-Fritz, researcher at the Center for Virology at the Medical University of Vienna (archived here), agreed. "Ivermectin should only be used as authorised; all other uses are not indicated," she said on April 29, 2025. Covid-19 misinformation The text shared across social media claims ivermectin "has been associated with a significant reduction in infection, hospitalization and mortality rates" due to Covid-19, but there is no data to back that claim. During the pandemic, researchers explored whether ivermectin could treat Covid-19, but studies failed to find a clinical benefit. and provincial health authorities, including in Alberta, do not recommend the use of ivermection to prevent or treat Covid-19. The post also claims that ivermectin cures the "damage caused by mRNA vaccines through spike proteins." This repeats a recurring false claim that the spike proteins produced after vaccination against Covid-19 cause harm or can be shed to the detriment of others. Experts estimate the Covid-19 vaccines saved millions of lives (archived here). Health Canada says the approved vaccines "reduce the risk of severe illness, death and post Covid-19 condition (long Covid)" (archived here). Clinical trials needed The social media post further claims that ivermectin kills cancerous cells and prevents their spread, but provides no evidence. The effectiveness of ivermectin in treating cancer is currently an avenue of research for scientists, but it is far from being considered an alternative to existing Since the mid-1990s, in vitro and animal studies have shown that the ivermectin molecule could have anti-cancer properties. Jérôme Hinfray, head of scientific information for the French Anti-Cancer League, told AFP in March 2025: "Scientists have shown that the molecule could have antiproliferative properties, which therefore slow the development of cancer cells, and anti-metastatic properties, which would prevent the spread of cancer in the organisms of the animals that were the subjects of the experiment." However, such studies cannot be extrapolated to humans, and further research and clinical trials are needed, said Claude Linassier, oncologist and director of the prevention, organisation and care pathways unit at the National Cancer Institute of France in March (archived here). "We cannot in any case transpose data from an experimental model in mice to treatment in humans," he said. "To claim that ivermectin is effective in curing cancer is certainly false or fanciful and is not based on any scientific data," he warned. Research shows that cancer arises from mutations in cells, not from an external parasite (archived here), but the false belief that cancer is a parasite also fuels unproven faith in ivermectin and fenbendazole to cure it. Following Gibson's claim, which was viewed more than 10 million times on YouTube, the Canadian Cancer Society took to X to warn against the "false hope" provided by misinformation on cancer treatment (archived here). "Surgery, radiation and approved cancer drugs like chemotherapy are safe and proven to stop cancer cells from growing and spreading. Choosing to use an alternative therapy can have serious health effects, such as the cancer spreading or getting worse," the organization said. More of AFP's reporting health misinformation is available here.
