By Miriam Valverde - Politifact
An Instagram post says the COVID-19 pandemic was planned and falsely points out that the virus was spread "on purpose" to start a new world order. Additionally, it recommends a drug that has been advised against by health authorities to treat the disease. disease.
"They don't have to poison you, they can cure you, but they choose not to," reads part of the note posted on Instagram on April 22.
The text accompanies a nearly 9-minute video with Dr. Pierre Kory, a critical care specialist and co-founder of Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance, a group of physicians who advocate for the use of the drug ivermectin to treat COVID-19. .
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The Instagram post was flagged as a bogus party thanks to Facebook's efforts to combat untrue news and misinformation on its wall
.
(Read more about Politifact's alliance with Facebook).
The video shows Kory's testimony before a United States Senate committee on December 8.
He says that while the National Institutes of Health (NIH) said in August 2020 that ivermectin should not be used outside of control trials, new tests showed that the drug is effective against the coronavirus.
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"Now it's December, it's been three or four months," Kory says in the video.
"Mountains of data have emerged from many centers and countries around the world showing the miraculous efficacy of ivermectin, which basically eliminates the transmission of this virus. If you take it, you will not get sick," he said.
Almost a week after Kory's testimony, the US Food and Drug Administration said that people should not take ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19.
A recent study examined the use of the drug in a laboratory setting, the FDA said, but
additional testing is needed to determine whether it is appropriate to use it against COVID-19
.
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The FDA has not yet approved ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19.
Ivermectin is not a drug used to treat viral infections, and
taking large doses can be dangerous
, the FDA said.
The FDA has approved ivermectin tablets to treat people with certain conditions caused by parasitic worms.
Topical forms of ivermectin have been approved to treat lice and some skin problems.
Also, some forms of ivermectin are used in animals to prevent heartworm disease and parasites.
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Ivermectin products for animals are different from ivermectin products for humans.
The FDA says that people should not use drugs intended for animals.
Some studies have examined whether ivermectin can be an effective tool in the fight against COVID-19.
But, according to federal health and drug agencies, more research is needed.
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In February, the NIH said that some clinical studies showed no benefit or a worsening of the disease after the use of ivermectin;
other studies suggested that the use of ivermectin had some benefits.
"However, most of these studies had incomplete information and significant methodological limitations, making it difficult to exclude common causes of bias," the NIH said.
The National Institutes of Health indicated that insufficient data prevents a federal panel from being able to recommend for or against the use of ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.
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"Well-designed, well-conducted, adequately powered clinical trial results are needed to provide more specific evidence-based guidance on the role of ivermectin in the treatment of COVID-19," the NIH said.
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug developed during the 1970s.Benoit Tessier / Reuters
In March, the FDA published a text titled "Why You Shouldn't Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19."
The agency noted that "some initial research is underway," but the medicine has not yet been approved to treat or prevent COVID-19 in humans.
"
There is a lot of misinformation
and you may have heard that taking large doses of ivermectin is okay. That is wrong," the FDA said.
People can overdose on ivermectin,
and the drug can also interact with other medications, such as blood thinners, according to the FDA.
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The Communicable Diseases Society of America, which represents physicians, scientists, and public health experts who specialize in infectious diseases, reviewed several studies on ivermectin and COVID-19.
According to the information, last updated in February, the panel of this organization recommends not treating COVID-19 with ivermectin if it is not in a clinical trial.
One of the concerns raised by the group was that some trials did not properly randomize people between treatment and control groups.
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"The panel determined that the certainty of the evidence for ivermectin treatment for hospitalized and outpatients is very low, due to concerns with risk of bias and imprecision," said the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Our verdict
A video posted on Instagram claims that "mountains of data" show that ivermectin "kills" the transmission of COVID-19.
Some studies suggest that ivermectin can help treat COVID-19;
but others show no significant impact.
Many of the studies had small sample sizes and other limitations
.
US drug and health agencies say
more research is needed before reaching a definitive conclusion
on the efficacy of ivermectin against COVID-19.
The FDA has not approved ivermectin for the prevention or treatment of the disease.
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Groups that have looked at studies on ivermectin and COVID-19 caution against trial bias and limitations.
Later studies may show positive results for ivermectin.
But
the truth is that there are currently no "mountains of data" showing its benefits
.
The existing evidence is limited and shows mixed results.
Therefore, we
qualify this statement as
false
.