A Duke University study has found that ivermectin has little efficacy as a treatment for COVID-19. | Drew Hays/Unsplash
A Duke University study has found that ivermectin has little efficacy as a treatment for COVID-19. | Drew Hays/Unsplash
A Duke University research study has indicated that ivermectin has little efficacy when it comes to COVID-19 treatment.
Researchers led a study that found no differences between patients taking the drug as opposed to those taking a placebo.
“Overall, most people improved their symptoms whether they took Ivermectin or not,” Dr. Adrian Hernandez, executive director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, said in a WNCN report on Monday. The research institute, part of the Duke University School of Medicine, is the world’s largest academic clinical research organization.
Ivermectin has been a polarizing topic. It is typically used as a horse-deworming drug, but then it also began being used to treat mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19.
“Given these results, there does not appear to be a role for ivermectin outside of a clinical trial setting, especially considering other available options with proven reduction in hospitalizations and death,” Hernandez said.
In the study, half of the 1,600 COVID-19 patients took the drug and the other half took a placebo. The study has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and is out for peer review.
The study was done in an effort to learn whether ivermectin plays a tangible role in helping patients recover from the coronavirus.
Some people have considered ivermectin a cure for COVID-19, but the FDA has reported that many people who have taken it on their own ended up needing medical intervention, even hospitalization; the report said. The FDA discourages its use in humans.
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