Ivermectin & COVID-19

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This page does not constitute medical advice, nor our medical opinion as authors. This page is solely intended to be used for educational purposes and is intended to portray a holistic overview of current evidence regarding ivermectin use for Sars-Cov-2 infection, at the time of writing. For further information on ivermectin use to treat COVID-19, please consult your primary healthcare provider.

Why Are Some People Taking Ivermectin to Treat COVID-19 Infection?

Some people have been taking ivermectin to treat, or even prevent, COVID-19 infections [1]. This is because some studies that have been performed on cells infected with COVID-19 in a petri dish responded well to ivermectin treatment [2, 3, 4].

However, in this study, the dose of ivermectin used was 250 times more than we would usually prescribe for humans [2, 4]. Taking this much of ivermectin leads to it building up in the blood stream, and potentially exerting a toxic effect on the body [2]. This can be very dangerous.

Whilst other studies have been conducted into ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 infection, the evidence is described as "low quality", so cannot be used as a basis for treating someone [2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].

Furthermore, there have been concerns that some studies might be biased. Some studies are funded by pharmaceutical companies trying to sell ivermectin, and some authors hold senior positions in companies that attempt to sell ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 infections [5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,].

Effects of Using Ivermectin to Treat COVID-19 Infection

During infections, like COVID-19, the barrier between the blood and the brain can become weaker [8, 11, 12]
If this barrier is weaker, ivermectin can potentially cross across this barrier and enter the brain [8, 11, 12]
In the brain, ivermectin can exert toxic effects, and lead to symptoms of an overdose.
Some drugs approved to treat COVID-19 can make it easier for ivermectin to travel into the brain [8, 11, 13].
- If ivermectin is taken, doctors might not be able to give you other treatments that are proven to be effective, because of the risk of toxicity.

Find out what different organisations think about using ivermectin to treat symptoms of COVID-19:

MSD
(The Ivermectin Manufacturer)

MSD (or Merck in the USA) have found no evidence or scientific basis that would support the use of ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 infection. They are also very concerned about the lack of safety data in studies that suggest the use of ivermectin.

Ultimately, MSD do not reccommend taking ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection.

Visit their website

Cochrane Reviews
(An evidence-based scientific database )

An independant review concluded that, from the little good-quality evidence available, there is no current reason to use ivermectin to treat COVID-19 infection, as it may not be safe or effective. The rest of the evidence they reviewed was very low, or low, quality.

Ultimately, Cochrane Reviews do not reccommend taking ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection.

View their research

The FDA
(The Food and Drug Administration)

The FDA recognises that taking Ivermectin to treat COVID-19 can be very dangerous and cause serious toxicity. Without strong evidence to support its use to treat COVID-19, the FDA will not authorise the drug for use.

Ultimately, the FDA do not reccommend taking ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection.

View their statement

WHO
(The World Health Organisation)

An independent review found that there was very low certainty that ivermectin could help reduce symptom severity or mortality of COVID-19. Furthermore, they found that most studies that supported ivermectin as a therapy for COVID-19 infection had faults in their methodology and data collection.

Ultimately, MSD do not reccommend taking ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19 infection.

View their statement

Our Conclusion

The authors of this website are not doctors or accredited scientists.

As such, we cannot recommend taking medication.

However, from the data we have looked at from multiple scientific papers, and based on the recommendations from various health organisations, we believe that the current scientific consensus (at the time of writing) is:

Ivermectin should not be taken to treat COVID-19
Ivermectin should not be taken to prevent COVID-19
Most studies that suggest ivermectin can be used to treat COVID-19 infection are implicated to be biased, or have faulty methodology that makes their data unreliable.
The evidence available at the moment isn't strong enough to support the safe use of ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 infection.

For more information, please consult your primary healthcare provider or pharmacist.

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