Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday had a piece of advice for people thinking about using ivermectin to treat COVID-19: listen to the medical experts who do not recommend it.
"I think we should listen to the medical community. All of us, listen to the medical community, particularly when there is a strong, overwhelming consensus about what is appropriate and what is not," DeWine said.
Fact check: Ivermectin is not a proven treatment for COVID-19
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic treatment commonly used for livestock, though it is approved to treat certain skin conditions in humans such as head lice. It is unproven in the treatment of COVID-19 and is not recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last week, a Butler County judge ordered a southwest Ohio hospital to treat a COVID-19 patient with ivermectin after the patient's wife filed a lawsuit. The case is one of a handful nationwide where courts have sided with family members and forced doctors to use ivermectin.
Ernie Boyd, director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association, said he is hearing reports of an uptick in use of the drug for humans, likely to treat COVID-19.
"If people are at all squirrely about a vaccine that millions have taken, I'd be 100 times more cautious about something like this," Boyd said.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy does not track prescriptions written for ivermectin but issued an advisory last week. Poison control centers across the nation have reported an increase in calls about ivermectin.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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