08-09-2021, 01:18 PM
![[Image: Reuters_Ivermectin-1.jpg]](https://s3media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Reuters_Ivermectin-1.jpg)
KUALA LUMPUR: Is Ivermectin really a wonder drug capable of saving the lives of severely ill (category 5) Covid-19 patients?
Armed with the findings of a few small-scale studies done overseas, Malaysian pro-Ivermectin groups, including some opposition MPs, are pressing the authorities to approve the use of this medication to treat Covid-19.
The polemics surrounding Ivermectin – an anti-parasitic drug most commonly used in veterinary medicine – gathered steam after a medical practitioner, in an interview with a local television station recently, supported the use of the drug in the treatment of Covid-19 as it is said to reduce the risk of death.
However, a large number of medical practitioners in this country beg to differ, saying that the efficacy of the drug in treating Covid-19 has not been clinically proven.
The health ministry’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency (NPRA) has also announced that so far no products containing active ivermectin have been registered for human consumption in the country.
Nevertheless, the differences in opinion among medical experts on the use of Ivermectin to treat Covid-19, as well as the risk of taking it without a doctor’s guidance, have not stopped some people from buying the drug from the black market.
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