After thunderous volleys of invective and humiliation from the Food and Drug Administration over the use of ivermectin to treat COVID-19, the end came with a whimper Thursday.
While not budging in looking down its bureaucratic nose at the drug’s use in connection with COVID-19, the FDA agreed to take down social media posts indicating the drug was only for animals, according to Newsweek.
One of the posts to be retired read, "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."
The FDA will also remove from its website a post titled "Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19." The post had not been removed as of Saturday.
The FDA still warns against large doses of the drug, which received significant attention during the COVID-19 pandemic when high-profile individuals who took it -- such as podcaster Joe Rogan -- reported positive results.
Ivermectin is used to treat internal parasites in large animals such as horses and cows, but has long been used to treat parasites in humans \-- although with a smaller dose -- and in a topical form for lice and rosacea.
The lawsuit was initially filed on June 2, 2022, by three doctors -- Mary Talley Bowden, Paul Marik and Robert Apter.
“After nearly two years and a resounding rebuke by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the FDA has agreed to remove its misleading social media posts and consumer directives regarding ivermectin and COVID-19,” Bowden said in a statement to The Texan.
In the lawsuit, Bowden’s lawyers claimed the FDA “may not interfere with the authority of a health care provider to prescribe or administer any legally marked device to a patient for any condition or disease within a legitimate health care practitioner-patient relationship.”
The lawsuit was initially dismissed, but then restored by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals last year.
“FDA is not a physician. It has authority to inform, announce, and apprise -- but not to endorse, denounce, or advise,” the ruling against the FDA said.
“The Doctors have plausibly alleged that FDA’s Posts fell on the wrong side of the line between telling about and telling to,” the ruling said.
“The damage the FDA inflicted will linger, but future patients are now protected from one meaningful government intrusion into their medical care,” Bowden said. The FDA has 21 days from Thursday to take down the posts.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate for president and a critic of the government’s COVID-19 response, said in a post on X that ivermectin was only one example of government overreach.
Ivermectin is not an exceptional case. The FDA is biased against many low-cost, generic, and/or natural therapies with low profit potential. Could it be because half its funding comes from Big Pharma? https://t.co/LxpqLuvb6A
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) March 22, 2024
"Ivermectin is not an exceptional case. The FDA is biased against many low-cost, generic, and/or natural therapies with low profit potential. Could it be because half its funding comes from Big Pharma?" he wrote.
In response, the FDA said it "has not changed its position that currently available clinical trial data do not demonstrate that ivermectin is effective against COVID-19. The agency has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19,” according to Newsweek.
