Ivermectin

Like penicillin and aspirin, ivermectin is a medication that derives from nature.

Although it was little known in advanced health economies before COVID, the drug has an incredible history of promoting health in underdeveloped countries. Approved for human use in 1987, it has been instrumental in tackling some of the world’s most harmful tropical diseases, such as Onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis (also known as Elephantiasis), strongyloidiasis and scabies. It also effectively fights parasitic infestations in animals, which can be economically devastating to the livestock industry.

In addition to being an effective, broad-spectrum anti-parasitic, many healthcare professionals have been using ivermectin for decades to treat a variety of other diseases.

“Few, if any, other drugs can rival ivermectin for its beneficial impact on human health and welfare,” wrote Andy Crump in The Journal of Antibiotics in 2017. Crump worked with Satoshi Ōmura, the Japanese microbiologist responsible for discovering ivermectin, for decades.

Ivermectin is one of the safest drugs known. It is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines, has been given over 4 billion times around the globe, and won the Nobel Prize for its global and historic impacts in eradicating endemic parasitic infections in many parts of the world.

It is important to look at evidence from all sources when deciding whether to use a particular treatment approach. FLCCC used the totality of evidence approach when deciding on whether to recommend ivermectin as a potential treatment for COVID-19.

A growing evidence base of dozens of studies around the world demonstrates ivermectin’s unique and highly potent ability to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication and aid in recovery from COVID-19. Based on this evidence, and on first-hand clinical observations, the FLCCC recommends its use, as part of a combination therapy, in all stages of COVID-19. View our protocols for more information on specific strategies.

For comprehensive information on ivermectin please refer to our Review of the Emerging Evidence Supporting the Use of Ivermectin in the Prophylaxis and Treatment of COVID-19 and the included references.

While ivermectin is a remarkably safe drug with minimal adverse reactions (almost all minor), some potential drug-drug interactions should be reviewed before prescribing ivermectin. The most important drug-drug interactions occur with cyclosporin, tacrolimus, antiretroviral drugs, and certain antifungal drugs.

For a fuller review of the safety of ivermectin, see FLCCC Information Evidence for Safety of Ivermectin.