# What do the people who think ivermectin is effective against COVID-19 believe is the reason health providers do not want to prescribe it? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [January 13, 2022, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674 "2022-01-13T02:04:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpacemanSpiff_II)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/21 "2022-01-13T22:14:44Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Hmmm. So one of the side effects (anti-inflammatory) may help recovery from COVID. Harumph. Right. At least one early study was very promising. [Effect of early treatment with fluvoxamine on risk of emergency care and hospitalisation among patients with COVID-19: the TOGETHER randomised, platform clinical trial (nih.gov)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8550952/) > [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Oh, and NIH also included > > > [@](#): > > > > ## Recommendation > > > > > - There is insufficient evidence for the COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) to recommend either for or against the use of fluvoxamine for the treatment of COVID-19. Also right. That’s kind of the point. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/22 "2022-01-14T01:55:40Z")
The irony is, vaccines are one of those medicines that really does bring only a very small profit to the drug companies. It’s much more profitable to keep administering many expensive doses to treat something, than it is to administer one cheap dose that prevents it entirely. If the drug companies really were as cynically evil as the conspiracy theorists claim, they’d be secretly funding the anti-vax movement. Now that I mention that… Hmm. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/23 "2022-01-14T02:10:51Z")
Fluvoxamine also has potentially serious side effects, which is why it’s pretty much never used as an antidepressant. Of course, we have lots of other safe and effective options for depression, the risk/benefit analysis could be completely different for COVID. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/24 "2022-01-16T22:50:05Z")
A common argument is that they use it because they don’t trust Big Pharma. Ivermectin is made by Merck. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/25 "2022-01-17T06:15:13Z")
Follow-up question: why ivermectin? Why did that somehow become the “real” treatment for covid? ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/26 "2022-01-17T16:52:46Z")
Possibly because somebody stumbled over one or more studies that actually do say it works – in populations likely to have significant worm infestations. Which there are few of in the USA. See the post above by @Pardel-Lux, part of which I’ll quote as an easy way to link to it: > [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > It is true that Ivermectin is effective against parasitic worms, who in turn can make Covid worse. So curiously enough, Ivermectin helps Covid patients who also have severe worm infestations. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/27 "2022-01-17T18:13:40Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Follow-up question: why ivermectin? Why did that somehow become the “real” treatment for covid? > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Possibly because somebody stumbled over one or more studies that actually do say it works – in populations likely to have significant worm infestations. Which there are few of in the USA. I don’t think that played much of a role. It’s my understanding that those studies didn’t come out until after ivermectin had already become established as a “real” treatment. Here’s my (layman’s) understanding: Early in the pandemic, a _lot_ of medical researchers were looking at a _lot_ of different treatments for COVID-19. Previous laboratory work had indicated that ivermectin had some significant anti-viral activity in vitro. A number of researchers decided to take a look at it, and some of them published a number of quick, small, low-quality studies which seemed to indicate ivermectin might be useful as a treatment for COVID-19. Subsequent studies, which were larger and of higher quality, showed no significant anti-viral activity in vivo. (As @Pardel-Lux points out, some still later studies showed significant protective effects against COVID-19 when ivermectin is used to treat the kinds of parasitic infections it’s supposed to be used for, since those infections can weaken the immune system and make sufferers more vulnerable to other infections, like COVID-19.) A _lot_ of substances show some anti-viral activity in vitro but don’t pan out in vivo. And, like a lot of those substances, the concentrations of ivermectin used in the in vitro tests would be highly toxic if used in vivo. But, by the time those disconfirming studies came out, it was too late. The meme of ivermectin as a wonder drug had already infected the trust networks of a lot of people. For a lot of people, the CDC, WHO, FDA, and similar organizations are outside of their trust networks. A lot of people are conditioned to believe the _opposite_ of what organizations like that contend. Ivermectin is fairly widely available as a prescription medication (for treating _ **parasites** _), and quite widely available in veterinary formulations as an over-the-counter medication. For scared, desperate people, the lure of a relatively cheap and widely available treatment for a frightening disease, especially for people whose trust networks are already overwhelmed by opposition to effective infection control measures (anti-mask, anti-vax, anti-social distancing), is going to be _very_ seductive. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/28 "2022-01-18T15:54:41Z")
Excellent explanation. The part about in vitro (cell culture) studies often not translating to living systems also explains why many promising anti-cancer substances never make it past initial small-scale trials. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/29 "2022-01-18T16:03:12Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Excellent explanation. > > The part about in vitro (cell culture) studies often not translating to living systems also explains why many promising anti-cancer substances never make it past initial small-scale trials . Just as an aside – and maybe this is better for Factual Questions: Are there are proven therapeutic substances that do nothing _in vitro_, but are highly effective _in vivo_? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/30 "2022-01-18T16:16:30Z")
On the subject of ivermectin, there are detainees in an Arkansas jail suing the prison doctor for secretly treating them with ivermectin. Probably paywalled: > **[Detainees Sue Arkansas Jail That Gave Them Ivermectin to Treat Covid...](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/17/us/ivermectin-covid-arkansas-jail.html)** > > For months, the jail’s doctor has promoted the drug, which health experts say should not be used to treat or prevent Covid-19. @Qadgop_the_Mercotan, is that you being sued? (Just kidding, of course!!) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/31 "2022-01-18T16:45:38Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > @Qadgop_the_Mercotan, is that you being sued? (Just kidding, of course!!) Nah. I’m sued for not giving them ivermectin, or hydroxychloroquine, or urine therapy. Not that they needed a prescription from me for them to drink their own urine. Go figure. Ivermectin’s great for scabies that’s resistant to topical treatment, though. That’s the only reason I ever prescribed it. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/32 "2022-01-18T16:47:19Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > A _lot_ of substances show some anti-viral activity in vitro but don’t pan out in vivo. Bleach, for example… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/33 "2022-01-18T16:50:17Z")
Obviously you are not a believer in the One True Church. [https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/press-releases/florida-family-indicted-selling-toxic-bleach-fake-miracle-cure-covid-19-and-other-serious-diseases](https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/press-releases/florida-family-indicted-selling-toxic-bleach-fake-miracle-cure-covid-19-and-other-serious-diseases) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/34 "2022-01-18T17:02:52Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > Factual Questions: Are there are proven therapeutic substances that do nothing _in vitro_ , but are highly effective _in vivo_ ? Aspirin? There are just no suitable _in vitro_ assays for many treatments. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/35 "2022-01-18T17:12:25Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > I could tell you the cure for cancer, but…nah. The money’s too good. Fundamentally, they really believe that predatory profit-motivated corporations aren’t really _all that_ predatory, or profit-motivated. What’s better, a $10 billion market spread amongst 10 companies, vs. a $2 billion market where you’re the only company? The first company to patent this “effective treatment for cancer” will dominate the industry, and make gobs of money, even if the overall amount of money decreases. And it’s not like people will stop getting cancer now, just because we’ve “found a cure”, so the market will exist in perpetuity. So why wouldn’t they do that? Some principled stand in which they’re willing to sacrifice billions of their own profits in order to keep their competitors in the market? Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/36 "2022-01-18T17:17:54Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > It’s a cousin to the claim that “drug companies won’t investigate natural remedies because they can’t be patented”. It also ignores the fact that in most countries, you can patent a “new use for an old substance”. So, sure, ivermectin might already be known as an anti-parasitic medication, but if you can show it’s also effective as an anti-COVID medication, you could patent that new use. Getting a patent can take a long time, but these days, there are ways to speed that up, so someone would have done something by now. Here in Canada, we even have a special program to process COVID-related patents faster than normal. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/37 "2022-01-18T17:37:42Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Nah. I’m sued for not giving them ivermectin, or hydroxychloroquine, or urine therapy. Not that they needed a prescription from me for them to drink their own urine. Go figure. I’m hoping this is tongue in cheek. No one is really threatening to sue you for not treating them with bad medicine, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/38 "2022-01-18T17:45:19Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I’m hoping this is tongue in cheek Hey, I was once sued for depriving an inmate of companionship by removing a wart. That he asked me to remove. And gave full written informed consent for removing. That was just one item on the list of complaints (his finger was sore after, he was unhappy with the cosmetic result, he didn’t understand removal meant he wouldn’t have it anymore, and there’s more. . . ). ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/39 "2022-01-18T17:47:26Z")
Haha! Do you see your shoes? The ones you’re wearing? I wouldn’t want to be in them. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674/40 "2022-01-18T17:49:10Z")
I get sued over shoes, too. For not approving Air Jordans or other trendy sports shoes as ‘medically necessary’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-people-who-think-ivermectin-is-effective-against-covid-19-believe-is-the-reason-health-providers-do-not-want-to-prescribe-it/957674.md?page=3)