Ivermectin off-label prescribing will be reinstated, in a decision published by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) yesterday.
The TGA restricted the use of ivermectin during Covid-19 outbreak to specialists such as dermatologists, gastroenterologists and infectious diseases specialists.
The restriction was introduced in September 2021 because of safety concerns with consumers using the drug to treat Covid-19 and the “widespread use of ivermectin instead of approved vaccines and treatments for COVID-19.”
The decision comes after the Poisons Standard lifted the restriction as there is “sufficient evidence that the safety risks to individuals and public health is low when prescribed by a general practitioner in the current health climate.”
“Also, given the high rates of vaccination and hybrid immunity against COVID-19 in Australia, use of ivermectin by some individuals is unlikely to now compromise public health.”
The TGA has stated that clinical studies have “demonstrated ivermectin does not improve outcomes in patients with COVID-19.”
According to the TGA “The National Covid Evidence Taskforce (NCET) and many similar bodies around the world, including the World Health Organization, strongly advises against the use of ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19.”
As of May 2023, there are 96 Covid ivermectin studies with an overall 62% improvement in early treatment and 43% improvement in late treatment.
Ivermectin won the Nobel Prize for medicine 2015, drug company Merck & Co donated ivermectin doses providing 570 million treatments in the first 20 years in poorer and disadvantaged countries. The World Health Organisation has listed it as an “Essential Medicine.”
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