All Adults To Be Given Ivermectin Drug In Goa - But Here's Why WHO Warned Against Its Use

The World Health Organization (WHO) has, however, recommended against the general use of Ivermectin for treatment of the coronavirus patients.

(Representative Image/Getty)

Panaji: Asserting that he has “given instructions for immediate implementation of prophylaxis treatment”, Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has said all adults in the state will be given Ivermectin drug to prevent complications arising out of the Covid-19 infection.

Rane said Ivermectin is a drug used to treat many types of parasite infestations, adding it does not prevent Covid-19 but can help reduce the severity.

The Health Minister said the adults in Goa “will be given Ivermectin 12mg for a period of five days” and pointed out that “expert panels from the UK, Italy, Spain and Japan, found a large, statistically significant reduction in mortality, recovery time and viral clearance in Covid-19 patients treated with Ivermectin”.

“The tablet will be made available at all the district, sub-district, PHCs (primary health centres), CHCs (Community Health Centres), Sub Health Centers, RMDs (Rural Medical Dispensaries) as well as GMC (Goa Medical College and Hospital). People can collect the medicine and start taking it immediately, irrespective of symptoms,” he said on Monday.

Rane said this should, however, not give one a false sense of security and complacency, adding they should continue to take all the precautionary measures and follow laid down SOPs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has, however, recommended against the general use of Ivermectin for treatment of the coronavirus patients.

WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan in a tweet today said: “Safety and efficacy are important when using any drug for a new indication. WHO recommends against use of ‘ivermectin’ for COVID-19 except within clinical trials.”

She also attached to her tweet a similar warning issued by German healthcare and life sciences giant Merck, which said: “We do not believe the data available support the safety and efficacy of ‘ivermectin’ beyond the doses and populations indicated in the regulatory agency-approved prescribing information.”

Earlier on Monday, Goa recorded 2,804 new Covid-19 cases, taking the state’s tally to 1,21,650. There are over 31,000 active coronavirus cases in the state.