Japan-based Kowa reports that ivermectin has shown an “antiviral effect” on omicron and other COVID variants. The finding flies in the face of the CDC’s heavy-handed push to keep Americans from getting ivermectin to treat their COVID.
Japan’s Kowa says ivermectin has an antiviral effect on omicron
According to Reuters, Kowa, a trading and pharmaceutical company based in Japan, has teamed up with Kitasato University in Tokyo for its testing of ivermectin for its antiviral effects in treating omicron and other COVID variants. Kitasato University operates a medical degree program.
Clinical trials of ivermectin in COVID treatment are ongoing. The study that Kowa reported was a Phase 3 clinical trial. No other details about the ongoing study have been released. Use of the drug to treat COVID has caused widespread controversy in the U.S. and some other parts of the world.
Americans blocked from getting ivermectin
The CDC and several media news outlets in the U.S. have trumpeted the use of ivermectin in veterinary care, saying that it shouldn’t be used in humans. U.S. medical boards have suspended or revoked the licenses of doctors who have prescribed ivermectin to treat COVID.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the World Health Organization, and the European Union’s drug regulator have advised people not to take ivermectin to treat COVID.
