Why We Can't Stop Talking About Ivermectin

Ivermectin is in the spotlight again -- thanks to Joe Rogan, Mel Gibson, and even some related legislation making its way around the country. Moreover, people we are speaking with who mistrust mainstream science regularly bring it up as an example illustrating a dishonest public health and media establishment. 

How did an uncontroversial workhorse of an anti-parasitic drug—one that has saved countless lives and earned its discoverers a Nobel Prize—become and is continuing to be a major driver of mistrust for science and public health today?

Despite numerous studies confirming that it’s ineffective for treating or preventing COVID-19, Ivermectin has become a focal point in our national debate over the pandemic response, censorship, government overreach, and 'my science vs. your science' worldviews.

This is the story of often stirring anecdotes versus solid double-blind studies, at times condescending public health and media messaging, the Wild West of medical research, the role of money in medicine, and, finally, medical freedom.

We speak with Dr. David Boulware, a physician and one of the lead researchers who studied and did trials on Ivermectin, in an episode about what this unassuming drug has revealed about who we are and where we are headed.

Hosts:
Brinda Adhikari
Tom Johnson
Maggie Bartlett
with special guest host, Dr. Mark Abdelmalek

Guest:
Dr. David Boulware, infectious disease physician at the University of Minnesota, who oversaw the design of multiple clinical trials of Ivermectin

Sources:
Study Confirms No Benefit to Taking Ivermectin for COVID-19 Symptoms
https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news/study-confirms-no-benefit-taking-ivermectin-covid-19-symptoms

CDC alert on dramatic rise in prescriptions, poison control reports, adverse events from ivermectin
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/109271#tabs-2

20-30% of prescriptions are off-label:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9998554/#:~:text=Off%2Dlabel%20prescriptions%20for%20drugs,%25)3%20(Figure%201).

Is Ivermectin Bogus or a “Miracle Drug”?
 https://www.newsweek.com/ivermectin-bogus-miracle-drug-truth-lies-somewhere-between-1635304 

Emergency Use Authorizations of COVID-19–Related Medical Products:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2787205

Frontline Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC Alliance) page with data they say supports the use of ivermectin:
https://covid19criticalcare.com/ivermectin/

Bill forcing hospitals to administer ivermectin, other requested treatments nears finish line
https://www.cleveland.com/open/2024/12/bill-forcing-hospitals-to-administer-ivermectin-other-requested-treatments-nears-finish-line.html 

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Chapters

• 0:12 Intro
• 1:30 Why Are We Choosing To Talk About Ivermectin Now?
• 3:56 Joe Rogan Speaks On Ivermectin Recently
• 5:15 The History of Ivermectin
• 7:32 Ivermectin and Covid
• 13:13 Anecdotes v. Science
• 15:59 The Rush To Publish Data
• 17:34 The Truth About the EUA
• 20:46 The Horse De-Wormer Tweet Heard Around the World
• 26:55 Interview with Dr. David Boulware, the Ivermectin Research Guy
• 58:32 The Four of Us Debrief