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A California psychiatrist who advised Governor Ron DeSantis on a coronavirus pandemic recently advertised a drug for COVID-19 patients that federal disease experts warned after a surge in calls to toxicology centers. Did.
Due to growing interest in the antiparasitic ivermectin, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national warning on Thursday advising against the therapeutic use of the coronavirus. Drug maker Merck also states that there is “no scientific basis” to claim that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19.
Dr. Mark McDonald of Los Angeles is one of a fringe group of candid medical professionals promoting ivermectin as an alternative to widespread vaccination against the coronavirus. In a Twitter post on August 5, McDonald’s called ivermectin “an effective, safe and inexpensive treatment” and shared an article in The Jerusalem Post citing recent drug studies in Israel.
A wave of false information online about ivermectin has led to increased demand, and some have turned to versions of livestock drugs. That was the impetus for tweeting to the US Food and Drug Administration. “You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, everything. Stop.”
The Florida Poison Control Center is a state-funded non-profit organization that treats 27 ivermectin-related cases in August, most of which are related to livestock drugs. It’s more drug-related than the center saw in all of last year.
In a tweet posted Monday, McDonald’s called people who think ivermectin is a horse drug “ignoramus.” (This drug can treat parasites in both humans and animals such as horses.)
McDonald’s stated in a telephone interview on Friday that people “should not take (ivermectin) from feed lots.” But he said people were desperately taking veterinary medicines because the federal government had banned doctors from getting veterinary medicines.
McDonald’s has accused the Food and Drug Administration of setting ivermectin aside because it has already spent billions of dollars on “mass vaccination of the population.”
“If the goal of these people is to promote public health and keep the public healthy, then why none of them speak a word about prevention and health to prevent infection or hospitalization or death. Did you? “McDonald said. “I think there are a lot of injustices and cancellations of those who support the truth.”
Dr. John Sinot, chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of South Florida’s Morsani Medical College and epidemiologist at Tampa General Hospital, said that promoting ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment is “evil” because it impairs its suitability. I said there is. care. “
“Physicians who support this must report to the state medical association,” Sinnott added.
McDonald’s was one of several doctors summoned by DeSantis for a private discussion in July on mask policies at school. In his comment, he claimed that “hiding a child is child abuse,” according to a video of the meeting later released by the Governor’s Office. He also likened Maskmandate to apartheid, the racist system of South Africa in the 20th century.
At this week’s trial in Tallahassee over the ban on the governor of school mask obligations, state lawyers included McDonald’s comment as evidence. However, in his decision against Desantis on Friday, Judge John Cooper of the Leon County Circuit Court denied McDonald’s opinion.
McDonald’s is one of several medical professionals outside the state’s network of public health professionals, and DeSantis has relied on the guidance of the entire pandemic. DeSantis also regularly relies on Dr. Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist at Stanford University, backed by former President Donald Trump. Atlas reportedly clashed with other members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force last year, urging Trump to carry out the course without government intervention.
And in the Musk trial, a Florida lawyer asked Professor Jay Bhatarya of Stanford University to defend the orders of Desantis, rather than the state surgeon General Scott Rivekeys. Batacharya, an early opponent of business restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, testified that she has been the governor’s “unofficial adviser” since September last year.
In a Friday statement to the Times / Herald, DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushau said that McDonald’s was included in the school’s mask panel: “Governor DeSantis supports (or disagrees with) Dr. McDonald’s opinion on other subjects. ) Does not mean that you are doing it. “
“The panel wasn’t about ivermectin,” she said. “It was about forced masking of school children.”
McDonald’s has a history of comments that go against the consensus of the larger medical and public healthy communities. He shared a graphic on social media that called people wearing masks “delayed” and posted skeptical comments on the vaccine.
McDonald’s is associated with front-line doctors in the United States, a political organization that medical professionals have accused of disseminating false information about the coronavirus and treatment. McDonald’s spoke at a summit hosted by a front-line American doctor, and his photo with the group is posted at the top of his Twitter feed.
On Friday, NBC News reported that front-line doctors in the United States were one of the leading suppliers of ivermectin as a fake treatment. The network has built its business around prescribing drugs, the network reported.
According to the CDC, ivermectin prescriptions surged to 88,000 in the week from just a few thousand weeks before the pandemic to August 13, and quadrupled from July. Meanwhile, ivermectin-related calls to poison control centers have increased by 400 percent, officials said.
Dr. Asim Taraba, an assistant professor of emergency medicine at Yale School of Medicine and a medical toxicologist, said that toxicology numbers are a problem because many people taking ivermectin may not experience side effects. He said he was likely to underestimate. Or, he said, they’re sick with medicine, but they don’t like picking up the phone.
Ivermectin has been successfully used in developing countries for decades to treat parasites. In the United States, it has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for applications such as oral medications for roundworms and topical treatment of lice. Side effects are minor when used correctly, but overdose can lead to vomiting, confusion, seizures, and death, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Studies have not demonstrated that ivermectin is effective in treating patients with coronavirus, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises on off-label use. The National Institutes of Health said in February that clinical studies on ivermectin varied, with some suggesting some benefits and others showing little or worsening changes in patients.
Taraba said some people’s confidence in ivermectin can be explained by a misunderstanding of the scientific process. According to doctors, some studies have shown that the drug limits the ability of the virus to propagate in the laboratory. However, there is no evidence that the drug works that way in the human body.
“No matter what we believe (left, right, center), we have to follow scientific rigor,” said Taraba.
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