08-30-2021, 10:14 PM
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/20...DNEJRYBNXE
An Ohio judge has ordered a hospital to give ivermectin to a covid-19 patient after his wife sued for the unproven treatment.
The decision came as state and federal health agencies express alarm at overdoses on the deworming drug, driven by people turning to forms of the medicine meant for livestock — sometimes as a preventive measure in lieu of vaccination against the coronavirus.
A human version of the drug has long been used to fight parasitic infections, and some doctors have become vocal advocates of the drug for covid, prescribing it routinely. But the Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin to treat or prevent covid and urged against that use in a recent public advisory amid news of spiking calls to poison centers. A group of researchers who reviewed data from 14 ivermectin studies found that the results so far “cannot confirm the widely advertised benefits,” though other trials are ongoing.
In Ohio, Butler County Judge J. Gregory Howard came down last week in favor of a woman who sued to force West Chester Hospital to administer ivermectin to her husband, Jeffrey Smith. The order does not explain the judge’s reasons.
Jeffrey Smith was hospitalized mid-July with covid, according to the lawsuit filed by his wife, Julie Smith. The hospital treated him with its usual covid protocol — remdesivir, plasma and steroids — but refused to use ivermectin as he was seriously ill on a ventilator, the lawsuit states.
Julie Smith eventually got a prescription for ivermectin from an Ohio doctor, Fred Wagshul, who told the Ohio Capital Journal that the government’s stance toward ivermectin amounts to “genocide.”
A spokeswoman for UC Health, which includes West Chester Hospital, said she cannot comment on litigation or the specifics of patient care because of privacy laws.
An attorney for Julie Smith, Jonathan Davidson, said Monday that Jeffrey Smith is alive but declined to share details of his medical condition, citing the family’s privacy.
Another lawyer for Julie Smith, Ralph Lorigo, who also is the Erie County Conservative Party chairman, has sued successfully in Illinois and New York for similar orders to use ivermectin. The drug has found particular traction in conservative circles, promoted by talk show hosts and lawmakers.
An Ohio judge has ordered a hospital to give ivermectin to a covid-19 patient after his wife sued for the unproven treatment.
The decision came as state and federal health agencies express alarm at overdoses on the deworming drug, driven by people turning to forms of the medicine meant for livestock — sometimes as a preventive measure in lieu of vaccination against the coronavirus.
A human version of the drug has long been used to fight parasitic infections, and some doctors have become vocal advocates of the drug for covid, prescribing it routinely. But the Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin to treat or prevent covid and urged against that use in a recent public advisory amid news of spiking calls to poison centers. A group of researchers who reviewed data from 14 ivermectin studies found that the results so far “cannot confirm the widely advertised benefits,” though other trials are ongoing.
In Ohio, Butler County Judge J. Gregory Howard came down last week in favor of a woman who sued to force West Chester Hospital to administer ivermectin to her husband, Jeffrey Smith. The order does not explain the judge’s reasons.
Jeffrey Smith was hospitalized mid-July with covid, according to the lawsuit filed by his wife, Julie Smith. The hospital treated him with its usual covid protocol — remdesivir, plasma and steroids — but refused to use ivermectin as he was seriously ill on a ventilator, the lawsuit states.
Julie Smith eventually got a prescription for ivermectin from an Ohio doctor, Fred Wagshul, who told the Ohio Capital Journal that the government’s stance toward ivermectin amounts to “genocide.”
A spokeswoman for UC Health, which includes West Chester Hospital, said she cannot comment on litigation or the specifics of patient care because of privacy laws.
An attorney for Julie Smith, Jonathan Davidson, said Monday that Jeffrey Smith is alive but declined to share details of his medical condition, citing the family’s privacy.
Another lawyer for Julie Smith, Ralph Lorigo, who also is the Erie County Conservative Party chairman, has sued successfully in Illinois and New York for similar orders to use ivermectin. The drug has found particular traction in conservative circles, promoted by talk show hosts and lawmakers.
![[Image: IMG-2569.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/Jn06m2gT/IMG-2569.jpg)