SIBU, Aug 15: The people has been advised not to take Ivermectin pill as there is no indication yet that it is beneficial for the treatment of Covid-19.
Assistant Minister of Housing and Local Government Dr Annuar Rapaee, in deliberating on the pill at his Facebook livestream, said at the moment there is no concrete data yet showing that the pill could be used as a prescription against the coronavirus.
“Ivermectin is a medication that is used to treat parasite infestations and not a medicine for Covid-19. The company producing this pill had even said it is not for Covid-19 and that they will not be responsible for any side effects that may arise if people consume it to treat Covid-19.
“Maybe there are some Covid-19 patients who feel better after taking it. So it means it is good but for any medicine to be used for human beings or for any illness, it needs to go through four phases of clinical trial. This is a long process. Even for emergency cases, it still needs to go through Phase 3,” he said.
Dr Annuar, who is also Sibu Division Disaster Management Committee coordinator, said although there has been much news on Ivermectin, there is no indication yet that it is suitable to treat Covid-19
Recently two poisoning cases involving the use of Ivermectin were reported to the National Poison Centre in Malaysia.
The first case involved a 35-year-old who took one Ivermectin pill and later experienced shortness of breath for five days while the second case involved a senior citizen who was found unconscious after allegedly taking 15 pills of Ivermectin at one go.
The National Poison Centre also clarified that there is no specific antidote or treatment for such cases of poisoning.
“As such, avoid taking Ivermectin for ‘self-medication’,” it said. — DayakDaily
