NEW DELHI: An
increasing
number of
Delhiites
infected by
Covid-19
are now being put on
Ivermectin – an
orally administered drug
that is generally used to treat
parasitic infections
. While the World Health Organization has warned against its usage for treating Covid, citing the lack of evidence about its effectiveness against the coronavirus, Goa announced on Monday that the drug would be given to every adult in the state, either as medicine for Covid or to build immunity against the virus. Experts and doctors in Delhi said that Ivermectin might be useful for people with mild Covid symptoms, but using it to build immunity was riskier. They felt that to build immunity, Ivermectin would have to be used over a number of days, but this could have side-effects.
Dr Suneela Garg, member, Covid-India Task Force of Lancet Commission, said the May 5 guidelines issued by the Union health ministry were clear about Ivermectin's usage for mild Covid. “We only recommend its use in mild cases, like other drugs that have been used,” Garg reiterated. “Indiscriminate use of any drug, however, is not beneficial, particularly evidence backing its efficacy.”
Also warning against Ivermectin's general use, Dr Soumya Swanithanan, chief scientist, WHO, tweeted on Tuesday, “Safety and efficacy are important when using any drug for a new indication. WHO recommends against the use of Ivermectin for Covid-19 except within clinical trials.”
Dr JC Suri, director and head of pulmonary department at Fortis Hospital, pointed out that people took to chloroquine in the same way last year. However, the larger evidence did not suggest that either chloroquine or Ivermectin helped build immunity. He told TOI, “We have very little evidence to support that and the larger evidence, including global studies, suggests it may not actually be very effective. Chloroquine was tried out last year and discarded when found it wasn't effective.”
Dr Suri cautioned, “If you use an anti-parasitic drugs over an extended period, there are bound to be some side-effects and we are not sure at the moment what these may be.”
There was little justification in using Ivermectin, asserted Dr S.K Sarin, director, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, noting that clinical trials held around the world by WHO pointed towards its limited efficacy in fighting Covid. “First, it does not help build immunity," Sarin said. “Then, it is also not protective in nature, in the sense that if someone has Covid, it cannot prevent the person from infecting others. Thirdly, even for an infected person, Ivermectin's efficacy is fairly limited, which is why WHO removed it from its recommended drugs.”