Ivermectin Doctors Take to the Courts
How many lawyers does it take to make the antiparasitic work for COVID-19?
In March, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) settled a lawsuit over its years-old public messaging discouraging the use of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin — an important medicine in global health which is also commonly prescribed by veterinarians in the US — as a treatment for COVID-19. As part of the settlement, the agency agreed to delete its famous “you are not a horse” posts from social media.
The lawsuit was initially filed back in 2022 by three doctors, who argued the FDA’s messaging advising against the use of ivermectin for COVID-19 “illegally interfered with the practice of medicine” and claimed to have suffered professional consequences as a result of the FDA’s statements. While the case was dismissed in December 2022, it was controversially revived in September 2023 by the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.