Judge orders Ohio hospital to give COVID patient anti-parasitic drug ivermectin
An Ohio judge has ordered a hospital to prescribe a COVID-19 patient with ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug that federal agencies have advised against taking as COVID treatment.
The ruling by Butler County Judge Gregory Howard came after Julie Smith filed an emergency relief order for the use of ivermectin for her husband, Jeffrey Smith, according to court documents.
Jeffrey Smith, 51, has had COVID-19 since early July and has been on a ventilator at West Chester Hospital, according to the lawsuit. The hospital is about 25 miles north of Cincinnati.
Nearly three weeks after he was put on a ventilator, his wife reached out to Dr. Fred Wagshul, who prescribed 30 mg of ivermectin for the patient. Wagshul is a founder of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, which touts ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19.
The hospital refused to give Jeffrey Smith the drug, leading to his wife asking for the emergency order.
“He is on death’s doorstep,” Smith’s attorney wrote in the lawsuit. “There is no further COVID-19 treatment protocol for the (hospital) to offer to Jeffrey; Ms. Smith does not want to see her husband die, and she is doing everything she can to give him a chance.”
The court sided with the Smiths, and the hospital has been ordered to give Jeffrey Smith the prescription.
“West Chester Hospital shall immediately administer ivermectin to Jeffrey Smith in accordance withDoctorFred Wagshul’s prescription, namely 30mg of ivermectin daily for 21 days,” Howard wrote in his order.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization have all also advised against using ivermectin to treat or prevent COVID-19 outside controlled clinical trials, McClatchy News reported earlier this month.
“You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y’all. Stop it,” the FDA tweeted.
Mentions of ivermectin by Fox News personalities Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham have fueled an interest in the drug in the past month, according to CNN. The drug has flown off the shelves in many parts of the United States.
Poison control centers in multiple states have reported an increase in calls related to people taking the drug and have warned about the side effects, which include allergic reactions, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and hypotension.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 9:34 AM with the headline "Judge orders Ohio hospital to give COVID patient anti-parasitic drug ivermectin."