It was a recent normal Thursday when I got the text. A family member sent a YouTube video, uploaded by Meeker Extreme in December of 2020, with the title “Doctor pleads for review of data during COVID-19 Senate hearing.”

There was no description for the video detailing the doctor’s name or the medicine. Only by watching the video did I find out his name - Dr. Pierre Kory, M.D. - and the drug - ivermectin.

This family member said it was an alternative medicine for COVID-19, is an answer for the virus and knows where to buy it.

At face value, the video sounds positive. Kory is speaking at a Senate hearing, and not just at home, about the benefits of using ivermectin during the COVID-19 pandemic. Maybe he is on to something. But why haven’t I heard about this?

I didn’t know anything about Meeker Extreme, this doctor or the medicine, but I did know if I’ve never heard of something - whether it be a person, group, news source, etc. - I do not take the information as accurate, factual, definitive or trustworthy until I have conducted my own research. So, I Googled it.

With just little research, I found that ivermectin is a medication used to treat parasite infections in the intestinal tract and on the skin and eyes. There are different prescriptions for humans and animals. I also found that Kory is a pulmonologist and has recently worked in Madison, Wisc. He is co-founder of Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance.

“He received his medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine and has been in practice between 11-20 years,” according to health.usnews.com.

Soon this little research led to a lot of research. I read an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal supporting Kory and his research and articles by Associated Press News, WHYY, KHN (a story in partnership with KCUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News), The Washington Post and more - all credited and not extremely far-right or far-left news sources.

Kory has been a proponent of ivermectin for many months. And so are other medical experts. Alexis Lieberman is a pediatrician in Philadelphia. She has prescribed ivermectin for some of her patients and has seen good results, she said in a WHYY Sept. 18, 2020, article titled “Some doctors think they’ve found a cheap, generic drug which treats COVID-19. So why hasn’t anyone heard of it?”

However, other experts in the medical field are skeptical, such as Janet Woodcock, Food & Drug Administration acting commissioner. During a recent webinar, sponsored by American Medical Association, she said, “We don’t have solid evidence right now. We’ve had hints for a long time on ivermectin, but again, we’ve had hints on a lot of these agents and many of them have not panned out.”

In a Dec. 11, 2020, Associated Press News article titled “No evidence ivermectin is a miracle drug against COVID-19,” writer Beatrice Dupuy said, “In June (2020), Australian researchers published the findings of a study that found ivermectin inhibited the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in a laboratory setting, which is not the same as testing the drug on humans or animals.”

Although this initially sounds hopeful, the conclusion does not necessarily.

“The concentration of ivermectin used on the cells was way too high to be safe or even feasible in the human body. Still, at lower doses, the researchers indicated that ivermectin had the potential to inhibit the replication of the virus in the body,” Nina Feldman writes, referencing back to the WHYY article.

Other parts of the world are conducting studies, too, and even using ivermectin for COVID-19 infections. South Africa, in January, began allowing the use of the medication in unique cases.

But “Africa’s top health official (Dr. John Nkengasong) has discouraged the use of ivermectin for COVID-19,” according to another Associated Press News article, “South Africa OKs limited use of parasite drug for COVID-19,” by writers Mogomotsi Magome and Andrew Meldrum, published Jan. 29.

In talking with the BBC, Nkengasong said reports of the drug’s effectiveness are “anecdotal reports and are not scientifically driven.”

An abstract written by members of the FLCCCA group and published in Frontiers in Pharmacology, was rejected and taken down March 1. The reasoning behind the decision involved editors concluding the work had unconfirmed claims and breached the publication’s guidelines.

With new information forthcoming on the possibility ivermectin has potential, observed in small studies, and from a request from FLCCCA, the National Institute on Health, in January, updated its view on the medication: “The panel has determined that there are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.”

According to the FDA’s article “Why you should not use ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19,” last updated March 5, “FDA has not approved ivermectin for use in treating or preventing COVID-19 in humans. Ivermectin is not an anti-viral.

“Even the levels of ivermectin for approved uses can interact with other medications, like blood thinners. You can also overdose on ivermectin, which can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hypotension (low blood pressure), allergic reactions (itching and hives), dizziness, ataxia (problems with balance), seizures, coma and even death,” the FDA website continues.

In an April 8 Washington Post article titled “Supporters tout anti-parasite drugs as COVID-19 treatment, but skeptics call it the ‘new hydroxychloroquine,’ writer Laurie McGinley said, “The Food and Drug Administration said at least three people were hospitalized in February after taking the veterinary formulation.”

Although the FDA has not approved ivermectin to be used to combat COVID-19, it does acknowledge that some studies have begun.

“The FDA has not reviewed data to support use of ivermectin in COVID-19 patients to threat or prevent COVID-19; however, some initial research is underway,” the website states.

Also, a representative for Merck, the company that developed the brand-name medication, released a statement on its use for COVID-19: “Following detailed review of the evidence available for ivermectin, we calculated that the dose required to attain an antiviral effect would significantly exceed the doses known to be safe and well tolerated. We therefore concluded that further research to evaluate the clinical potential of ivermectin for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 was not warranted.”

Whoa. Clearly, this is a complicated and controversial topic. I believe, from my research, this medication may have helped some individuals with COVID-19, but determining if this drug is the best answer for the virus and always safe has not been achieved based on thorough and established studies.

What if my family member had done some research before sending this video? Would the text have been sent? What if this text got to a person who had COVID-19, did not consult a doctor and took a dose intended for a 1,500-pound horse?

My family member is wrong in believing this drug can do no harm and is currently the ultimate answer for COVID-19. Even if this person did half of the research I conducted, a different analysis may have been reached. I could not leave the situation as is. I sent the research I had found in hopes of enlightening this family member.

Elizabeth Glowacki is a health communication researcher at Northeastern University. In the Nov. 12, 2020, KHN article titled “When false information goes viral, COVID-19 patient groups fight back,” she said, “Even if we’re not actively seeking information, we encounter these kinds of messages on social media, and because of this repeated exposure, there’s more likelihood that it’s going to seep into our thinking and perhaps even change the way that we view certain issues, even if there’s no real merit or credibility.”

That is a big problem. We have one of the greatest inventions right at our fingertips - the Internet - with easy access - smartphones - and sometimes we fail to use them. Many times, we read one article, watch one YouTube video or listen to one friend talk about a subject and immediately believe its credibility.

Instead, looking at varied, trusted, long-standing, updated sources will provide you with facts, not conspiracy theories; data, not rumors; and the writer’s own comprehensive research, not simply opinions.

If you are like me, social media is a normal part of your life. I have two social media accounts, and a couple times a week, I have to decipher fact from fiction in ads, group discussions and friends’ posts. Sometimes it’s common sense, like knowing not to ingest or inject cleaning disinfectant for COVID-19, to statements that require research, like the use of ivermectin.

Without good research, we fail not only ourselves, but others, too.

Stacey Koch

editorial assistant

Whitehall-Coplay Press

Northampton Press

Catasauqua Press