Friday, September 3, 2021

Thoughts on Ivermectin, masks, etc.

We are all sick of dealing with Covid and wish there was some kind of easy, fool-proof way to prevent or treat it. Unfortunately, as with most things in life, Covid does not work that way. Early on in the pandemic, hydroxychloroquine gained traction in some quarters as the answer and was ultimately shown to not be beneficial for Covid (and possibly made things worse). The new silver bullet being promoted by some which I have been asked about is Ivermectin.

Ivermectin is a drug I learned about in medical school but I do not have much experience with it because the human diseases it is typically used to treat are not common in the Shenandoah Valley. Ivermectin initially gained attention for Covid because it was shown to kill coronaviruses when used in high concentrations in a lab setting. Unfortunately, that does not necessarily mean it will work in a human being.

There are several studies which have been used to promote the use of Ivermectin for Covid which showed results that seem too good to be true. There are a lot of red flags with these studies which have been noted by epidemiologists who have reviewed them. One study included patients who died before the study even started, listed a hospital as part of the study as a participating institution even though the hospital denies any involvement, and listed an author who states he was never allowed to review the data. Other population studies do not account for the effects of concomitant policy changes such as lockdowns and one study appears to have sections directly cut and pasted from an earlier document.

It would be great if Ivermectin was effective. Imagine if it was really 100% effective as one study claimed. I could prescribe it for everyone and make it home in time for dinner with my wife. Unfortunately, the preponderance of the evidence for Ivermectin use in Covid is underwhelming (https://www.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/tables/table-2c/).

There are some things that we know help lessen the spread and effect of Covid. Masks have been shown to slow the spread of Covid. Vaccinations have been shown to significantly decrease one’s chance of catching Covid and to greatly decrease one’s chance of having a severe case of Covid. Being vaccinated also appears to decrease the amount and duration of viral shedding after a Covid infection, thus decreasing the chance of spreading it to someone else.

One of the most disheartening things for me about Covid is how much of the public discourse is about laws, mandates, court decisions, rights, and yelling at school board meetings. Wouldn’t it be nice if it was more about how we can voluntarily protect ourselves and those around us? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was more “What can I do to help?” and less “You can’t make me!”?

As of yesterday, our community hospital has 53 people hospitalized with Covid and has once again stopped doing elective surgeries. Several urgent cares have closed to reroute staff to where they are needed to help care for Covid patients. Recently, our days in the office are dominated by seeing patients with Covid, possible Covid, or exposure to Covid.

So please just wear a mask when you are indoors with folks outside your family and get vaccinated if you have not already. Ivermectin is not a panacea and we are unlikely to find anything else that is. The best way to get closer to our pre-Covid normal as soon as possible is for all of us to consistently do the things which we know work.

 

4 comments:

  1. Have you looked into Uttar Pradesh and Indonesia and how they dealt with Covid? In the not-so-distant past there were horrific images in the media of Covid patients in gurneys outside tents, people in line to get tests or treatments. And now? UP is a state of over 200 million people and Sept 5 reports just 18 new cases. In both places whose cases were sky-rocketing in June or July, the graphs are now nearly flatlining in comparison.
    https://bit.ly/38HbBOp
    https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/indonesia-distributes-medicines-for-free-as-daily-covid-19-infections-soar-to-56757.
    It would be a crime against humanity not to provide a simple pill and some vitamins and zinc to save lives when it is an inexpensive, effective option. Too bad it is not in the interests of Big Pharma and is thus negatively affecting the lives of the masses. It is not even in the interests of the "powers that be" in the medical world to do a proper study! Some of the studies done used a fraction, less than 1 mg. of Ivermectin (300 mcg) per day and then claim no substantial evidence of its benefit. "Duh" for lack of a better word right now!
    Of course populations must be educated on the difference between animal-grade and human-grade ivermectin. Sadly, Americans are struggling to find the human-grade and are turning to farmers' supply stores in desperation!
    Ivermectin has been used safely for decades, has very few adverse affects, is even used on young children, so why write it off?! It is anti-inflammatory and has antiviral properties! Which is why it has shown positive results in Covid patients AND as a prophylactic.
    I have a collection of websites, data, articles, interviews with doctors, etc. if you are interested. Just send me your email address and I will forward it to you.

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    1. My name didn't appear since I used my work email to login. Above posted by your cousin Heidi. :)

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  2. Hi Heidi. I agree it would be bad to be withholding effective treatment. The problem when treatment gets ahead of the evidence is it muddles things and we can't really know what works. This feels like a repeat of a year ago when folks were up in arms about doctors not using hydroxychloroquine. For every anecdote about the wonders of ivermectin there is a story about a guy who didn't want to get the vaccine, took ivermectin instead, and then on his death bed pleaded with his friends and family to get the vaccine. To give folks a false sense of security when they could just get a free (in the US), effective vaccine is also unforgiveable. We need data collected in as objective a way as possible, with control groups, etc. so we can know what works and doesn't. My understanding is that there are such trials underway with ivermectin. I don't know anything about the context in Asia. But here everyone 12 and up has access to something we know works. Anything else is a distraction at this point.

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