A Mississippi fire chief died of COVID-19 this week, the same day a legal agreement was reached that allowed his family to seek treatment for the virus with Ivermectin, according to WTVA-TV.

The news outlet reports that Wayne Doyle, the chief of the Lowndes County District 3 Volunteer Fire Department, died of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

WTVA says Doyle had been hospitalized with the virus at North Mississippi Medical Center in the town of Tupelo. His family had asked the hospital to treat Doyle with Ivermectin — an anti-parasitic drug that has not been proven as an effective treatment against COVID-19. According to WCBI-TV hospital reportedly refused to offer the treatments.

On Tuesday, an agreement was reportedly reached that allowed Doyle's family to move him from North Mississippi Medical Center to another hospital that would offer him Ivermectin. However, Doyle died before his family could move him to another facility.

According to an obituary for Doyle, he served as a volunteer firefighter for 40 years and also owned a local construction company. WTVA says first responders escorted Doyle as his body was taken to a local funeral home.

Ivermectin is a drug commonly used as an anti-parasitic. While several clinical trials have taken place to gauge its effectiveness in fighting COVID-19, the FDA has not issued approval for its use in treating the virus.

Despite the lack of FDA approval for use with COVID-19, the use of Ivermectin has skyrocketed in recent months as media members like Joe Rogan have touted the drug. Late last year, livestock feed stores reported a shortage of Ivermectin products meant for use with large animals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also issued warnings about the non-clinical use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19, noting that it had seen an increase in calls to poison control centers for Ivermectin overdoses.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —

Four inmates at an Arkansas jail have filed a federal lawsuit after they said they were unknowingly prescribed an anti-parasitic drug to treat their COVID-19.

The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed the lawsuit against the Washington County jail, Sheriff Tim Helder and jail physician Dr. Robert Karas.

The four inmates that the ACLU is representing said they were prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID-19 without them even knowing.

"They were told they were getting vitamins or steroids to make them feel better. They weren’t told about any side effects. Basically, they were used as guinea pigs," Gary Sullivan, legal director at ACLU of Arkansas said.

Sullivan said last summer, the four inmates in the lawsuit were given ivermectin to treat COVID-19. All four inmates reported side effects.

"Some have had diarrhea, severe stomach pain," he said. "What we have determined from the dosages that we saw in our clients’ medical records they were given much higher doses of this drug that you should even get for conditions that the FDA has approved this drug for treatment."

Ivermectin is approved for use by people and animals for some parasitic worms, head lice and skin conditions. The drug is not approved for treating COVID-19.

"In the records we have obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, probably as early as 2020, was when ivermectin was used," Sullivan said.

According to the lawsuit, "As of August 25, 2021, Dr. Karas stated publicly that there had been 531 confirmed covid-19 cases at WCDC, Dr. Karas has admitted publicly to administering Ivermectin to such confined persons."

Sullivan said now they are asking the court to enter an injunction to Washington County Sheriff Helder and Dr. Karis to stop the administration of ivermectin in the jail.

"The sheriff has a constitutional duty to make sure the people in the jail receive adequate medical care and so far he’s violated those constitutional mandates," Sullivan said.

Arkansas sister station 40/29 reached out to Sheriff Helder’s office. His spokesperson said they can’t comment due to the pending litigation. Helder in August revealed the prisoners had been prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

Dr. Karas’s spokesperson said they did not have any comment on the lawsuit.

The inmates in the lawsuit are still in this jail according to the ACLU.

Ivermectin has been called a wonder drug, and some people are wondering if it can, or should, be used to treat COVID-19. While misinformation flies online, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn against using the drug.

The idea of using Ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment started as a video emerged of a chairperson in the Japanese Medical Association saying he recommended doctors in Japan start using the drug to treat COVID-19.

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Many posts online containing the video make it seem like the video was filmed in August, however it was filmed in February. Seven months later and Japan has not approved of Ivermectin to be used to treat COVID-19.

While it hasn't been approved to treat COVID-19, the Food and Drug Administration has approved Ivermectin to treat infections caused by parasites. COVID-19 however, is not an illness caused by parasites.

The CDC said since early July, Ivermectin prescription fills went up "24-fold" despite a warning from the organization that improper usage or dosage could cause serious health issues.

The CDC said one patient was hospitalized for nine days with hallucinations, confusion, rapid breathing and tremors after drinking one dose meant for cattle. Another patient five tablets of unknown strength for five days and was disoriented and had difficulty answering questions until they were hospitalized and taken off the drug.

Small sample studies have been performed to look at the efficacy of Ivermectin on COVID-19, but those studies haven't shown conclusive evidence of the drug's benefit for the pandemic.

"Maybe someday a larger study may show some benefit," Dr. Steve Feagins with Mercy Health said. "But so far there's really not in the, and there's more harm than, than benefit."

Clinical trials are underway in Florida, including studies to determine if Ivermectin is effective for high risk patients in preventing hospitalizations, but so far the FDA has not approved the drug to treat COVID-19 and the FDA and CDC warn against its use.

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The Arkansas Medical Board is investigating after a doctor said he prescribed an anti-parasitic drug "thousands" of times for treatment of COVID-19, including to inmates in an Arkansas jail.

The FDA has been warning against the use of ivermectin for treatment of COVID-19 since March. The drug is used to treat parasitic infections, primarily in livestock, and the CDC recently cautioned about an increase in reports to poison centers of severe illness caused by the drug.

Justice of the Peace Eva Madison raised the issue during a county budget hearing in Fayetteville on Tuesday, saying a county employee had told her the jail's medical provider was prescribing ivermectin to treat and prevent COVID-19.

The county employee — who doesn't work for the sheriff's department — was directed to the jail to receive a COVID-19 test, Madison told CNN. During the visit he was prescribed ivermectin, which the Arkansas Department of Health also advises not to use to treat or prevent COVID-19.

"He is very afraid of retribution from the county and so he asked me to raise this issue on his behalf," Madison said.

"Much to my surprise, he (the sheriff) defended the use. He defended the practice," Madison said. The sheriff offered to put Madison in touch with the medical provider. Screen shots of the text exchange with the sheriff provided by Madison confirm her account.

Dr. Robert Karas provides medical services to the Washington County jail. He has been the contracted provider since 2015, according to Madison.

Madison said Karas defended his use of the drug during a phone conservation and again in a subsequent television interview after the practice came to light. Karas told television station KFSM that he began last October with prescribing the drug and has subsequently given it to family members and "thousands" of others. The doctor also recorded the station's interview with his own camera and posted it online.

"Do you want us to try and fight like we're at the beaches of Normandy? Or do you want me to tell what a lot of people do and say — oh, go home and ride it out and go to the ER when your lips turn blue," Karas said.

Karas said that he started to use ivermectin in the jail population starting in November on "high-risk patients over 40." The doctor defended his practice ,saying no deaths have been reported due to COVID-19 out of the 531 cases in the jail.

CNN called the Washington County Sheriff's Office to confirm the number of COVID-19 patients treated at the jail and was referred back to Karas, since he is contracted to provide medical services. Calls to the doctor's office have not been returned.

The Arkansas Medical Board has opened an investigation into the matter, Meg Mirivel, a spokesperson for the Arkansas Department of Health, told CNN. Due to the ongoing investigation the department was not able to comment further.

The sheriff's department declined to comment further or provide additional information about inmate care.

The Sheriff's office defended the practices to the local paper, saying all treatment is "voluntary."

"They are able to refuse any medication they're offered. Even with the vaccine, it's all voluntary," Chief Deputy Jay Cantrell told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

"I believe it's the county and the sheriff's constitutional duty to provide the detainees adequate and appropriate medical care." Madison told CNN.

"No one — including incarcerated individuals — should be subject to medical experimentation," Holly Dickson, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said in a statement, adding that the sheriff "has a responsibility to provide food, shelter and safe, appropriate care to incarcerated people."

In a CDC health advisory issued Thursday, the agency said the use of ivermectin can result in "gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Overdoses are associated with hypotension and neurologic effects such as decreased consciousness, confusion, hallucinations, seizures, coma, and death."

ORLANDO, Fla. —

A Florida store posted a sign saying it's out of Ivermectin and isn't sure when it'll have any again. The calls asking for it have picked up in recent weeks.

"Questions that we knew weren't current customers, people requesting this specific product only," business owner Justin Horstmeyer said.

Ivermectin, given to horses and other livestock, can reduce the risk of intestinal parasites. But the product sold at feed stores is not for human consumption.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration points out that this product is designed and made specifically for livestock, horses and cows. And that if a person uses it, it could be dangerous.

In a tweet, the FDA wrote: "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously y'all. Stop it."

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"People really need to talk to their doctor before they look to the internet to find some other kind of solution," Seminole County emergency manager Alan Harris said.

Harris has consistently urged people to get medical advice from the doctor they trust.

"There have been lots of studies that show that Ivermectin does not work on the virus. Give it up," Dr. Todd Husty said.

Seminole County's medical director says people should seek legitimate, tested solutions.

"We have things to use other than things that don't work like Ivermectin," Husty said.

The FDA website points out: "Never use medications intended for animals on yourself."

People have "required medical support and been hospitalized after self-medicating with Ivermectin intended for horses," the FDA wrote.

"The toxicity level of a product like this has not been screened, not been approved, could be deadly," Horstmeyer said.

Feed stores are being cautious before selling the product now, when they even have it, for the animal owners who legitimately need it.