On April 11, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared that ivermectin does not work at all against COVID-19. This statement comes shortly after the FDA removed social media posts advising against the use of the drug for treating COVID-19.
“If you look at the randomized trials of ivermectin, and there’s many of them now, there is no benefit of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID,” Dr. Robert Califf said in Washington during a congressional hearing.
He also said there were risks to taking the drug.
The remarks followed closely on the heels of the FDA’s decision to take down posts labeling ivermectin as a medication for horses and advising against its use for COVID-19.
This move was part of a settlement with doctors who sued the agency over these posts and a webpage titled “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19,” which was also removed.
“Why did you have to retract everything you said about ivermectin?” Rep. Paul Gosar asked Dr. Califf on Thursday.
“We didn’t retract everything we said about ivermectin,” Dr. Califf said.
That’s when he claimed no randomized clinical trials showed a benefit for ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment.
“That’s a statement just in fact,” he said.
“And any drug for which there’s no benefit and there are risks, people have to make their own decisions about what to do. What we’re not doing is telling doctors what they have to do,” he continued.
Dr. Califf’s statements are false. Although certain randomized trials haven’t demonstrated a benefit for ivermectin, others have shown that individuals taking ivermectin fared better than those in control groups.
Dr. Janet Woodcock, who served as Dr. Califf’s predecessor, was more specific in her remarks regarding ivermectin when addressing the conflicting data.
“Ivermectin has been shown to be ineffective against COVID in large randomized trials,” she told The Epoch Times previously.
“I would urge Dr. Califf to engage in debate with myself or other doctors who are actually treating COVID patients using ivermectin,” Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, one of the doctors who sued the FDA, told The Epoch Times in a message on the social media platform X.
“Dr. Califf has zero hands-on, clinical experience and is somehow ignorant of the 102 peer-reviewed studies showing efficacy of ivermectin in COVID patients. Further, if he would take the time to refer to the FDA’s own data, he might understand how safe ivermectin is,” she added.
Ivermectin is FDA-approved for specific purposes, such as treating strongyloidiasis, an illness caused by roundworms. In the United States, doctors have the authority to prescribe medications approved for one condition to treat another condition, which they frequently do.
Dr. Califf, FDA commissioner since 2022, has been vocal against misinformation, claiming it’s a leading cause of death without providing data to support the assertion.
During a confrontation with Rep. Eric Burlinson, he defended the FDA’s stance on ivermectin, despite criticism of the agency’s portrayal of the drug as solely for animals.
Dr. Califf stated that while ivermectin is used in animals, it’s also widely used in humans and has even won a Nobel Prize. He reiterated the FDA’s position that there’s insufficient evidence to support its efficacy against COVID-19.
The FDA’s recent legal settlement required removal of webpages and social media posts about ivermectin but left open the possibility for a revised page.
The new FDA statement emphasizes that ivermectin hasn’t been authorized for COVID-19 treatment and advises healthcare professionals to use approved drugs judiciously.
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