Over the last week, a collective meltdown involving the drug ivermectin has taken place. Because some doctors have prescribed it off-label to treat COVID, the media have taken to calling it “horse dewormer,” ignoring that the discoverer of its human form won a Nobel Prize and that it’s FDA approved for use in humans.
But it was when mega-podcast host Joe Rogan announced he had taken ivermectin as part of a cocktail to treat his COVID infection that things really went insane. Media outlets ran headlines claiming he had taken a drug meant for animals and called him anti-vaccine for doing so.
That’s when a story about a rural Oklahoma hospital went viral. According to claims by a doctor who supposedly worked there, the hospital in question was so overwhelmed with people overdosing on ivermectin that it couldn’t treat gun-shot victims.
But within 24-hours the story had started to fall apart, beginning with the revelation that the doctor who was interviewed by Rolling Stone hadn’t worked at the hospital in months.
After that, a full implosion took place. The hospital in question not only released a full statement, but they changed their internet homepage to reflect the correction of the false report.
While I don’t have strong opinions about ivermectin, I just want to note how similar this is to the freak-out of false claims made about hydroxychloroquine. The script we’ve seen play out recently is almost exactly the same. Begin by claiming the drug is meant for animals when it’s not. Then claim masses of rubes are overdosing on it when they aren’t. Finally, never admit fault and move on to the next hysteria.
In the end, hydroxychloroquine turned out to actually have some efficacy against COVID, specifically when taken in the early stages. Studies have now shown that to be true. Yet, for almost a year, the media took a dump on the drug, possibly costing tens of thousands of lives in the process.
But because the media are biased and so obsessed with politics over health, they are running the same playbook again. Now, to be clear, I don’t know if ivermectin has any benefit against COVID. There’s anecdotal evidence to that effect, but we’ll need to wait for actual studies on the matter. Regardless, the media’s behavior has once again been absolute garbage. The news industry and its army of re-tweeting, clapping seals should never be trusted. That goes double for health issues.