Each Country Has A Different Attitude Towards Ivermectin, This Is What The Expert Says

Ivermectin illustration. (Intermediate Photo)

JAKARTA - University of Indonesia health science expert Prof. Tjandra Yoga Aditama said a number of countries in the world have diverse attitudes towards Ivermectin as a drug to cure COVID-19 patients.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 31, 2021 stated that Ivermectin can only be used to treat COVID-19 in the context of clinical trial research," he said in a written statement received in Jakarta, Saturday, July 3.

The Professor of Lung at the UI Faculty of Medicine said WHO deliberately formed an international and independent expert panel to analyze data from 16 randomized controlled trials of Ivermectin with a total of 2,407 samples, including inpatient and outpatient COVID-19 patients.

Tjandra said the panel of experts analyzed scientific evidence of Ivermectin such as parameters to reduce mortality, affect the rate of mechanical ventilation use, whether or not to be hospitalized and healing time.

"The results of the WHO expert panel analysis show 'very low certainty', among others due to the limitations of the research methodology, the limited number of samples and the limited events analyzed. So WHO only recommends its use in clinical trial frameworks," he said.

The Health Research and Development Agency in the United States, said Tjandra, on February 11, 2021 stated that there were not enough data to use or not to use Ivermectin to treat COVID-19.

"We need a research that is really well-designed, strong enough and well-organized to be able to provide scientific evidence-based conclusions to determine the role of Ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19," he told Antara.

Tjandra said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States did not approve the use of Ivermectin for the treatment and prevention of COVID-19. "The statement was submitted by the FDA on May 5, 2021," he said.

On the European continent, said Tjandra the 'European Medicine Agency (EMA)' in a statement on March 23, 2021 concluded that so far the available data do not support the use of Ivermectin for COVID-19. "Except for use in clinical trials with good design," he said.

Tjandra said India had no longer listed the use of the drug ivermectin in an official document issued by the "Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India" on 27 May 2021.

"The previous version of the document dated May 24, 2021 still contains recommendations for the use of ivermectin and or hydroxychloroquine for mild cases of COVID-19, where these two drugs are no longer listed in the current version, namely May 27, 2021," he said.

Drug. (FIXABAY illustration)

Potent drug

Tjandra added that the journal 'American Journal of Therapeutics' published on June 17, 2021 published that there was moderate evidence of a large reduction in mortality from COVID-19 using Ivermectin.

"The use of Ivermectin in the early stages of the disease may be able to reduce progression to severe," said Tjandra.

Meanwhile in the UK, said Tjandra, they will conduct a large-scale study with thousands of volunteers to assess the possible impact of Ivermectin on efforts to accelerate patient recovery. "Does it reduce the severity of the disease and can it prevent patients from having to be hospitalized," he said.