The misleading headline at KRQE read, “San Juan Regional Medical Center warns against use of ivermectin as COVID-19 treatment.”

The hospital is urging the public to be wary of COVID-19 treatments that “aren’t authorized or approved by the FDA.” 

They don’t mean emergency-use-authorization (EUA) COVID vaccines, which also lack full approval of the FDA. The warning was issued in response to patients coming into the hospital after using ivermectin intended for horses.  

Ivermectin itself does have full approval of the FDA as an anti-parasitic medication, and clinical trials found that its use was “safe and effective” in treating adult patients with mild coronavirus.

Judges in Chicago and Buffalo have actually ordered the use of ivermectin for COVID patients, and the American Journal of Therapeutics published research this month showing that use of the oral anti-parasitic may “significantly reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19.”

But the drug has not been officially approved by the FDA as a COVID remedy. 

According to KRQE, the issue at San Juan Regional wasn’t ivermectin itself, but ivermectin “meant for horses.” 

There is a difference, not only in the drug’s form and method of administering it, but in its dosage. That’s the problem the FDA is encountering. 

The FDA has issued several advisements, most recently on May 5, 2021, warning against the misuse of ivermectin intended for animals.

“The FDA has received multiple reports of patients who have required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with ivermectin intended for horses.”

“For one thing,” the FDA said, “animal drugs are often highly concentrated because they are used for large animals like horses and cows…. Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans.

“Moreover, FDA reviews drugs not just for safety and effectiveness of the active ingredients, but also for the inactive ingredients. Many inactive ingredients found in animal products aren’t evaluated for use in people. Or they are included in much greater quantity than those used in people.”

When it comes to horse drugs, just say no.