Data ‘not strong enough’ to promote use of Ivermectin vs Covid–WHO exec

AVAILABLE data “is not strong enough” to advocate the use of the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Wednesday.

Dr. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, WHO representative to the Philippines, said this in a virtual meeting with the House of Representatives’ Committee on Health.

“The issue with Ivermectin is that based on that initial study and the currently available data, it is not strong enough for us to advocate the use of Ivermectin for treatment of Covid or prevention of Covid,” Abeyasinghe said.

The European Medical Association made the same conclusion, he said.

In an earlier part of the meeting, Abeyasinghe said that small-scale studies were conducted in several countries. “In all of these countries, the results…were statistically not significant,” he said.

The Philippine government has warned the public against using Ivermectin as a cure for Covid-19.