It appears that Malaysians will soon be getting a definitive answer on whether Ivermectin pills can actually treat COVID-19 infections. Minister of Health Khairy Jamaluddin revealed that the results of a local study will soon be presented to the public next week by Institute of Clinical Research (ICR) director Dr Kalaiarasu Peariasamy.
This comes after Deputy Minister Dr Noor Azmi Ghazali explained in Dewan Negara earlier today that the results will first be shown to parliamentary stakeholders, before being shared with the public. He also gave a teaser about the results, saying, “so far, the findings to prove Ivermectin can treat or prevent COVID-19 infections are limited.”
The great debate locally on #Ivermectin will be settled soon. We did a local study on Ivermectin and the results are in. @drkalai61 will be presenting this publicly next week. https://t.co/2CEWPjKhVw
— Khairy Jamaluddin 🇲🇾🌺 (@Khairykj) October 29, 2021
On 5 June, the Ministry of Health began a local Ivermectin trial for high risk COVID-19 patients called I-Tech. The study involved 500 patients with comorbidities aged 50 and above, who were also COVID-19 positive. The patients were all between Categories 2 and 3, and are being treated across 20 hospitals nationwide.
The I-Tech study is aimed at determining the efficacy of Ivermectin in preventing the progression of the COVID-19 disease, as well as how it affects mortality outcomes and cut viral transmission. If you’ve never heard of it, Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic drug commonly used in veterinary medicine, but has been regarded by some during the pandemic as a treatment for coronavirus infections.
The World Health Organisation (WHO), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have all advised against using the drug for COVID-19 treatment outside of clinical trials.
(Source: NST)
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