The Ivermectin ‘cure’ reaches the Philippines
From chat groups and social media to lawmakers and the bureaucracy
The Philippines was a little late to turn to Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug more usually used in veterinary medicine, as a potential miracle drug against COVID-19, but it has been quick to make up for it.
A member of Australia's parliament who posted about Ivermectin and other unverified treatments for COVID-19 was banned from Facebook for a week in February, but, in the Philippines, lawmakers are openly advocating for its use through statements and at legislative hearings.
RELATED: The ivermectin surge
This week, the Food and Drug Authority granted one hospital a compassionate special permit to use the drug against COVID-19 and a member of the House announced he would distribute the drug to those who wanted it.
"To be honest, I do not know if it helped along with the other meds and vitamins I took. But I am negative for the COVID-19 virus now and that is all that matters," he said.
Warned about how it might actually be illegal to give out a drug for purposes other than what they are authorized for, he railed at government regulators and their "vested interests."
The congressman isn't alone in seeing a conspiracy (and not, for example, science) behind the warnings from health agencies.
A BBC report this week on the claim that Vitamin D might help against COVID-19 notes comments on online forums "that governments are 'barely mentioning' vitamin D's effectiveness, instead focusing on 'vaccines and police state tracking'; or alleging the vitamin is being ignored because the World Health Organization is in the 'pay of Big Pharma'."
A POLITICO report on the rise in demand for Ivermectin in Europe (until regulators stepped in) found a similar narrative.
"The implication that Big Pharma is blocking the use of ivermectin fits into the broader pattern of seeing some sort of big conspiracy 'against us ordinary people,' it quotes Jonáš Syrovátka, program manager at the Prague Security Studies Institute, as saying.
The same report says that those most inclined to believe that kind of disinformation are "people with lower degrees of trust" in institutions.
And, at least in Europe, "its adherents aren't in major cities or close to the levers of power, but 'are on the periphery of some centers'," researcher Dan Sultănescu of Romania's National School of Political and Administrative Studies says in the piece.
FOR THAT NEIGHBORHOOD CHAT GROUP YOU MIGHT BE IN:What is Ivermectin? Why social media creates Covid ‘miracle drugs’ – and why you shouldn’t trust the crowd
While that part probably doesn't apply to the congressman and to business leaders calling on government to consider the use of Ivermectin against COVID-19, this observation by Sultănescu might: "You have this in areas where people are frustrated because the results are not in their control, the solutions are not in their control."
At least one celebrity — the son of another congressman batting for Ivermectin — argues that the drug is worth a try because people "are dying not just because of the virus but also from hunger and anxiety."
He also says he has friends who testify that it works and that he takes it himself as preventive medicine.
HOW THE CLAIM THAT HIGH-ALKALINE FOODS PREVENT COVID-19 CROSSED BORDERS:Southeast Asia: Contact Tracing A COVID-19 Hoax
"Compared to health experts, politicians and celebrities tend to have access to larger and more diverse audiences, particularly on social media. But politicians and celebrities may not always have the appraisal skills they need to assess clinical evidence," Adam Dunn, an associate professor at the University of Sydney writes in a piece in The Conversation on COVID-19 misinformation—for unproven cures and against vaccination.
Dunn is head of Biomedical Informatics and Digital Health at the university's School of Medical Sciences.
A LOOK AT HOW CURES, VACCINATION AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES CAN INTERSECT:Anatomy of a conspiracy theory: how misinformation travels on Facebook
Political and celebrity endorsement for unproven cures is potentially dangerous, considering how interest in using bleach against COVID-19 as well as disinfectant-related injuries increased after then US President Donald Trump's comments about it.
Conspiracy theories linking 5G to the coronavirus also had real-world effects, according to a Guardian report on misinformation: "A wave of vandalism and destruction of 5G infrastructure began across the globe...ZDNet counted 61 'suspected arson attacks' in the UK alone, with further attacks in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Cyprus and Sweden."
Apart from the risks of self-medication, increased Ivermectin use made it difficult to conduct clinical trials in Latin America.
Researchers at the University of São Paulo, writing on the use of Ivermectin (and hydroxychloroquine), warned that "this widespread self-medication for COVID-19 could potentially contribute to the infection spreading and long-term prevalence of the epidemic in [Brazil]."
Can anything be done about this kind of misinformation? Dunn says social media platforms can help by removing hoax claims made by people and groups with a smaller audience.
That strategy might not be effective against people "who are in positions of power and influence, removing those posts is like cutting a head off a hydra," though.
"It doesn't stop the spread of misinformation at the source and more of the same will likely fill the void left behind."
What could work is correcting misinformation at the source and launching information campaigns to correct them.
The Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have issued statements warning against unauthorized Ivermectin use, although these may not be gaining as much traction as the claims about the miracle drug.
Although the noise seems to be on the side of those clamoring to allow the use of Ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure, Dunn points out: "The aim of countering misinformation is not to change the opinions of the people posting it, but to reduce misperceptions among the often silent audience."
While the congressman may be fully convinced of his conspiracy theory, there may be time yet to gently convince our aunts and uncles that with the world scrambling to address this year-long health crisis, companies and governments would be rushing to use these miracle cures if there was enough evidence that they work.
DANGEROUS TO GO ALONE, TAKE THIS: Quick questions—and answers—on anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin
—
Good to be back after the Holy Week break, an opportunity for many of us to focus on some Good News for a change.
VERA Files, in partnership with the Consortium on Democracy and Disinformation, the Asian Center for Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University, and the Ateneo SALT Institute, is holding its second "Just the Facts, Ma’am/Sir" fact-checking workshop.
The first session is on the morning of Saturday, April 10. The next one will be on April 17.UP Visayas will be hosting a fact-checking workshop, also conducted by VERA Files, on April 14.
The morning session, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., is for campus journalists and publication advisers. The afternoon session, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., is for media practitioners and information officers.
Registration through this link.
American Journal of Therapeutics May 2021 Meta-Analysis Ivermectin: https://osf.io/k37ft/