GEORGE TOWN – Although Malaysian doctors are polarised when it comes to the use of the antiparasitic drug named ivermectin to treat Covid-19 patients, an infectious disease consultant at Penang General Hospital said that proper study protocol has to be conducted to ensure that it works.
Speaking to The Vibes, Dr Chow Ting Soo said there are many small studies involving the drug, not all of them standardised.
Since there are many different outcomes from study of the drug, its analysis is difficult.
“We have started the ivermectin trial, so we will know the results soon.
“For example, there was so much hype about hydrochloroquine until the trial proved that it is not effective. So let’s do it properly,” said Chow, who is also leading the solidarity trial launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on numerous drugs to find a cure for Covid-19.
However, other doctors have been very vocal about ivermectin.
The Medical Review and Ethics Committee approved a comparison test of ivermectin treatment with specific doses and durations on May 25.
The trial started on May 30 and will involve 500 patients with mild or moderate symptoms of Covid-19 (categories two to three) subjects from a high-risk group aged 50 from twelve hospitals.
The study is aimed at determining the effectiveness of ivermectin in preventing Covid-19 from becoming more serious (categories four and five) and reducing mortality. The clinical trial is set to be completed in September 2021.
However, some doctors have spoken out on the use of ivermectin to treat Covid-19 patients. The action to delay its use by the Health Ministry until the trial is over has been heavily criticised by many medical doctors.
In an open letter, ten medical experts expressed that there is nothing to lose in trying a tried and tested medicine such as ivermectin, which is being increasingly used in other countries against Covid-19 and its new variants.
They stress that it has been proven very safe many times over and with many recent credible studies around the world confirming that it can reduce the risk of Covid-19 infection by 88% and reduce mortality rates by 83%.
“We have no malice in being critical of the health director-general’s statements. We are just saddened to see that the pandemic has claimed many lives, caused so much hardship, and used up so much human and financial resources.
“We genuinely believe and are confident that if ivermectin is mass distributed, the epidemic in our country will be quickly brought under control,” the letter stated. – The Vibes, June 10, 2021
